f"* &r^\ '\f\f\\     O  t?  A  T\l\\f^ 

R  S&f I  O.QL  K  L A .1)  1 N  u 


1   /  S    f      F"'^ '%  /" 

VAi  k  i 


SIR  WALTER  SCOTT 


WILLIAM. -J.  RO.LFE 


^thern  Branch 
of  the 

Diversity  of  California 

Los  Angeles 


Form  L  t 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


DEC  1  4 


1  5  1Q2H 


APR 
3 


9     1928 


JAN 


DEC 


Form  L-9-15>«-8,'24 


SIR   WALTER   SCOTT. 


Classics  for  Ikfjool  Htafcmg;. 


TALES    OF    CHIVALRY 

AND  THE  OLDEN  TIME, 


SELECTED  FROM  THE  WORKS 
OF 

SIR  WALTER   SCOTT. 


EDITED,  WITH  NOTES, 

BY 

WILLIAM   J.  ROLFE,  LiTT.D, 

ILLUSTRATED. 


NEW    YORK: 
HARPER   &    BROTHERS,   FRANKLIN    SQUARE. 

1895- 


Copyright,  1887,  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS. 


All  rights  reserved. 


PREFACE. 


THE  series  of  which  this  is  the  initial  volume  was  planned  more 
than  six  years  ago,  and  three  years  have  passed  since  the  plan  was 
approved  by  the  publishers ;  but  its  execution  has  been  delayed  by 
work  upon  other  books.  My  aim  is  to  edit  certain  selections  from 
standard  prose  and  poetry  suited  either  for  "supplementary  read- 
ing," as  it  is  called,  or  for  elementary  study  in  English  literature. 
The  brief  foot-notes  under  the  text  are  perhaps  all  that  some  teach- 
ers will  regard  as  necessary  for  the  former  purpose ;  but  I  believe 
that  the  longer  notes  at  the  end  of  the  book  will  be  found  more  or 
less  useful  and  suggestive  for  oral  instruction  in  connection  with 
the  reading-lessons.  These  latter  notes,  however,  are  more  especially 
designed  for  the  other  purpose  I  have  mentioned — elementary  study 
of  language  and  literature.  They  have  been  prepared  with  much 
care,  and  I  am  confident  that  they  will  be  perfectly  intelligible  to 
boys  and  girls  in  grammar  schools  and  others  of  similar  grade.  I 
shall  not  attempt  here  to  explain  how  I  think  they  should  be  used, 
as  the  little  pamphlet  of  "  Hints  to  Teachers,"  which  may  be  ob- 
tained, post-free,  on  application  to  the  publishers,  will  give  my  views 
more  in  detail  than  would  be  possible  in  a  preface.  Suffice  it  to  say 
now,  to  forestall  possible  criticism,  that  these  notes  are  not  designed 
to  give  systematic  instruction  in  either  grammar  or  rhetoric. 

The  sketches  of  the  life  of  Scott  are  my  own.  For  the  condensed 
extracts  from  his  works  I  have  been  largely  indebted  to  a  little  book 
(without  notes)  published  in  England  forty  years  ago,  and  long  since 
out  of  print.  "The  Crusaders  "  is  from  the  Tales  of  a  Grandfather  ; 
"The  Christian  Knight  and  the  Saracen,"  from  The  Talisman ;  and 

all  the  rest  from  Ivan/toe. 

W.  J.  R. 
CAMBRIDGE,  July  19,  1887. 


SCOTT'S  CHAIR,  ABBOTSFOKD. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

THE   EARLY   LIFE   OF   SCOTT i 

THE   LATER    LIFE   OF   SCOTT 16 

TALES   OF   CHIVALRY   AND   THE   OLDEN    TIME.  21 

THE  CRUSADERS 21 

THE  CHRISTIAN  KNIGHT  AND  THE  SARACEN 26 

SHERWOOD  FOREST  IN  THE  REIGN  OF  .  RICHARD  THE 

FIRST 37 

CEDRIC  THE  SAXON,  AND  ROWENA 50 

TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE 62 

ARCHERY — ROBIN  HOOD 84 

THE  SIEGE  OF  TORQUILSTONE 92 

THE  TRIAL  OF  REBECCA  THE  JEWESS 116 

NOTES 125 


OLD   HIGH   SCHOOL,  EDINBURGH. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PACE 

SIR  WALTER  SCOTT , Frontispiece. 

SCOTT'S  CHAIR,  ABBOTSFORD vi 

OLD  HIGH  SCHOOL,  EDINBURGH viii 

ABBOTSFORD x 

DRYBURGH  ABBEY 20 

RICHARD  I.  OF  ENGLAND 23 

GURTH  AND  WAMBA  IN  SHERWOOD  FOREST 43 

CRUSADERS 49 

ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE  CASTLE,  LEICESTER 8 1 

RICHMOND   CASTLE,  YORKSHIRE 95 

VIEW  OF  HOLY  SEPULCHRE,  JERUSALEM 124 

STONEHENGE 137 

CROMLECH 138 

BRONZE  CAST  OF  THE   HEAD  OF  SCOTT  AFTER  DEATH, 

FROM  PHOTOGRAPH 149 

SCOTT'S  STUDY 150 

ARMS  OF  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT 154 


THE    EARLY  LIFE   OF   SCOTT. 


WALTER  SCOTT  was  born  in  Edinburgh  on  the  1 5th  of 
August,  1771.  His  father  was  a  successful  lawyer,  and 
his  mother  was  the  daughter  of  Dr.  John  Rutherford, 
professor  of  medicine  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
In  an  account  of  his  own  life  which  Scott  began,  he  s 
says: 

"  I  showed  every  sign  of  health  and  strength  until  I 
was  about  eighteen  months  old.  One  night,  I  have  been 
often  told,  I  showed  great  reluctance  to  be  caught  and 
put  to  bed,  and,  after  being  chased  about  the  room,  was  10 
apprehended  and  consigned  to  my  dormitory  with  some 
difficulty.  It  was  the  last  time  I  was  to  show  such  per- 
sonal agility.  In  the  morning  I  was  discovered  to  be 
affected  with  the  fever  which  often  accompanies  the 
cutting  of  large  teeth.  It  held  me  three  days.  On  the  15 
fourth,  when  they  went  to  bathe  me  as  usual,  they  dis- 
covered that  I  had  lost  the  power  of  my  right  leg.  .  .  . 
There  appeared  to  be  no  dislocation  or  sprain ;  blisters 
and  other  topical  remedies  were  applied  in  vain." 

By  the  advice  of  Dr.  Rutherford,  the  child  was  sent  to  ™ 
reside  with  his  paternal  grandfather  in  the  country,  in 
order  to  "give  the  chance  of  natural  exertion,  excited 
i 


2  THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  SCOTT. 

by  free  air  and  liberty ;"  and  here,  at  the  farmhouse  of 
Sandy-Knowe,  as  it  was  called,  he  spent  the  next  two 
years.  25 

The  epistle  prefixed  to  the  3d  Canto  of  Marmion  con-' 
tains  a  charming  picture  of  the  infant  poet's  feelings 
amid  the  scenery  and  associations  of  Sandy  -  Knowe. 
He  says  : 

Thus  while  I  ape  the  measure  wild 

Of  tales  that  charmed  me  yet  a  child, 

Rude  though  they  be,  still  with  the  chime 

Return  the  thoughts  of  early  time : 

And  feelings,  roused  in  life's  first  day, 

Glow  in  the  line  and  prompt  the  lay.  as 

Then  rise  those  crags,  that  mountain  tower  l 

Which  charmed  my  fancy's  wakening  hour. 

Though  no  broad  river  swept  along, 

To  claim  perchance  heroic  song, 

Though  sighed  no  groves  in  summer  gale,  40 

To  prompt  of  love  a  softer  tale, 

Though  scarce  a  puny  streamlet's  speed 

Claimed  homage  from  a  shepherd's  reed,2 

Yet  was  poetic  impulse  given 

By  the  green  hill  and  clear  blue  heaven.  45 

It  was  a  barren  scene  and  wild, 

Where  naked  cliffs  were  rudely  piled, 

But  ever  and  anon  between 

Lay  velvet  tufts  of  loveliest  green  ; 

1  This  was  Smailholm  Tower,  the  ruined  remnant  of  an  old  baro- 
nial castle  near  Sandy-Knowe.  Scott  afterwards  made  it  the  scene 
of  his  ballad,  The  Eve  of  Saint  John.  It  is  about  two  miles  from 
Dryburgh  Abbey,  where  the  poet  is  buried. 

a  That  is,  was  celebrated  in  pastoral  poetry.  The  reed,  or  pipe 
on  which  the  shepherd  plays,  is  often  used  as  the  symbol  of  such 
poetry. 


THE  EARLY  LIFE   OF  SCOTT.  3 

And  well  the  lonely  infant  knew  50 

Recesses  where  the  wall-flower  grew, 

And  honeysuckle  loved  to  crawl 

Up  the  low  crag  and  ruined  wall. 

I  deemed  such  nooks  the  sweetest  shade 

The  sun  in  all  its  round  surveyed,  55 

And  still  I  thought  that  shattered  tower 

The  mightiest  work  of  human  power, 

And  marvelled  as  the  aged  hind l 

With  some  strange  tale  bewitched  my  mind 

Of  forayers,  who  with  headlong  force  60 

Down  from  that  strength  *  had  spurred  their  horse. 

Their  southern  rapine  to  renew 

Far  in  the  distant  Cheviots  blue, 

And,  home  returning,  filled  the  hall 

With  revel,  wassail-rout,  and  brawl.  65 

Methought  that  still  with  trump  and  clang 

The  gateway's  broken  arches  rang ; 

Methought  grim  features,  seamed  with  scars, 

Glared  through  the  window's  rusty  bars, 

And  ever,  by  the  winter  hearth,  7o 

Old  tales  I  heard  of  woe  or  mirth, 

Of  lovers'  sleights,3  of  ladies'  charms, 

Of  witches'  spells,  of  warriors'  arms  ; 

Of  patriot  battles,  won  of  old 

By  Wallace  wight4  and  Bruce  the  bold  ;  75 

Of  later  fields  of  feud  and  fight, 

When,  pouring  from  their  Highland  height, 

1  The  "aged  hind"  was  "Auld  Sandy  Ormiston,"  the  cow-herd 
of  the  farm,  and  the  favorite  companion  of  Walter.  Lockhart  says  : 
"  If  the  child  saw  him  in  the  morning,  he  could  not  be  satisfied  un- 
less the  old  man  would  set  him  astride  on  his  shoulder,  and  take 
him  to  keep  him  company  as  he  lay  watching  his  charge." 

3  Stronghold  ;  the  abstract  noun  used  for  the  concrete. 

s  Stratagems.  The  word  is  misprinted  "slights"  in  almost  all 
the  editions  of  Scott.  *  Gallant,  warlike. 


4  THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  SCOTT. 

The  Scottish  clans  in  headlong  sway 

Had  swept  the  scarlet  ranks1  away. 

While  stretched  at  length  upon  the  floor,  80 

Again  I  fought  each  combat  o'er, 

Pebbles  and  shells,  in  order  laid, 

The  mimic  ranks  of  war  displayed  ; 

And  onward  still  the  Scottish  Lion  bore, 

And  still  the  scattered  Southron  fled  before.  85 

Still,  with  vain  fondness,  could  I  trace 
Anew  each  kind  familiar  face 
That  brightened  at  our  evening  fire  ! 
From  the  thatched  mansion's  grey-haired  sire,2 
Wise  without  learning,  plain  and  good,  90 

And  sprung  of  Scotland's  gentler  blood  ; 
Whose  eye  in  age,  quick,  clear,  and  keen, 
Showed  what  in  youth  its  glance  had  been ; 
Whose  doom  discording  neighbours  sought, 
Content  with  equity  unbought ;  95 

To  him  the  venerable  priest,8 
Our  frequent  and  familiar  guest, 
Whose  life  and  manners  well  could  paint 
Alike  the  student  and  the  saint, 

Alas  !  whose  speech  too  oft  I  broke  100 

With  gambol  rude  and  timeless  *  joke  : 
For  I  was  wayward,  bold,  and  wild, 
A  self-willed  imp,  a  grandame's  child, 
But  half  a  plague,  and  half  a  jest, 
Was  still  endured,  beloved,  caressed.  ,05 

When  spending  a  summer  day  in  his  old  age  amid 
these  well-remembered  scenes,  Scott  told  a  friend  that 

1  The  English  soldiers,  or  "  red-coats." 
1  Robert  Scott,  the  child's  grandfather. 

3  Rev.  John  Martin,  clergyman  of  the  parish  in  which  Sandy- 
Knowe  is  situated.     See  the  next  page. 
*  Made  at  the  wrong  time,  inopportune. 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  SCOTT.  5 

he  used  to  delight  in  rolling  about  on  the  grass  all  day 
/  long  in  the  midst  of  the  flock,  and  that  "  the  sort  of  fel-        / 
lowship  he  thus  formed  with  the  sheep  and  lambs  had  "° 
impressed  his  mind  with  a  degree  of  affectionate  feeling 
V     towards  them  which  had  lasted  throughout  life."     There 
\  is  a  story  of  his  having  been  forgotten  one  day  among  ^s. 
the  knolls  when  a  thunder-storm  came  on  ;  and  his  aunt,      \ 
suddenly  recollecting  his  situation,  and  running  out  to  us   \ 
bring  him  home,  is  said  to  have  found  him  lying  on  his 
back,  clapping  his  hands  at  the  lightning,  and  crying        / 
out  "  Bonny !  bonny  !"  at  every  flash. 

Scott's  grandmother  used  to  tell  him  many  a  tale  of 
Wat  of  Harden  and  the  other  Border  heroes  of  the  olden  «o 
time ;  and  his  aunt  Janet  would  read  to  him  from  Ram- 
say's Tea-table  Miscellany  and  other  books,  until  he  could 
repeat  long  passages  by  heart.     He  says : 

"  The  ballad  of  Hardyknute^  was  early  master  of,  to 
the  great  annoyance  of  almost  our  only  visitor,  the  wor- 125 
thy  clergyman  of  the  parish,  who  had  not  patience  to 
have  a  sober  chat  interrupted  by  my  shouting  forth  this 
ditty.    Methinks  I  now  see  his  tall,  thin,  emaciated  figure, 
his  legs  cased  in  clasped  gambadoes,1  and  his  face  of  a 
length  that  would  have  rivalled  the  Knight  of  La  Man- 13° 
cha's,2  and  hear  him  exclaim,  '  One  may  as  well  speak 
in  the  mouth  of  a  cannon  as  where  that  child  is.' " 

When  Walter  was  four  years  old  he  was  taken  to  Bath 
in  England,  where  it  was  thought  the  waters  might  help 
his  lameness.     His  health  was  now  a  good  deal  con- 135 
firmed  by  country  air  and  exercise,  and  he  had  become 
able  by  degrees  to  stand,  to  walk,  and  to  run.     "  I,  who 

1  A  kind  of  gaiters  worn  to  protect  the  legs  from  mud  when  walk* 
ing  or  riding. 
8  Don  Quixote,  the  hero  of  the  famous  Spanish  novel. 


6  THE  EARLY  LIFE   OF  SCOTT. 

in  a  city,"  he  says,  "  had  probably  been  condemned  to 
hopeless  and  helpless  decrepitude,  was  now  a  healthy, 
high-spirited,  and,  my  lameness  apart,  a  sturdy  child."  14° 

He  spent  a  year  at  Bath,  with  little  or  no  advantage 
to  his  lameness ;  but  during  this  time  he  "  acquired  the 
rudiments  of  reading  at  a  day  school  kept  by  an  old 
dame."  He  adds  : 

"  But  the  most  delightful  recollections  of  Bath  are  MS 
dated  after  the  arrival  of  my  uncle,  Captain  Robert  Scott, 
who  introduced  me  to  all  the  little  amusements  which 
suited  my  age,  and  above  all  to  the  theatre.     The  play 
was  As   You  Like  It ;  and  the  witchery  of  the  whole 
scene  is  alive  in  my  mind  at  this  moment.     I  made,  I  *so 
believe,  noise  more  than  enough,  and  remember  being 
so  much  scandalized   at  the  quarrel  between   Orlando 
and  his  brother,  in  the  first  scene,  that  I  screamed  out, 
'  A'n't  they  brothers  ?'    A  few  weeks'  residence  at  home 
convinced  me,  who  had  till  then  been  an  only  child  in  '55 
the  house  of  my  grandfather,  that  a  quarrel  between 
brothers  was  a  very  natural  event." 

After  the  year  at  Bath,  Walter  returned  first  to  Edin- 
burgh and  afterwards  for  a  season  to  Sandy-Knowe. 
When  he  was  a  year  or  two  older  it  was  thought  that  «&> 
sea-bathing  might  be  of  service  to  his  lameness,  and  his 
aunt  took  him  to  Prestonpans.  There  he  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  an  old  soldier  named  Dalgetty,  to  whom 
he  refers  as  follows  : 

"As  this  old  gentleman,  who  had  been  in  all  the  Ger- 165 
man  wars,  found  very  few  to  listen  to  his  tales  of  mili- 
tary feats,  he  formed  a  sort  of  alliance  with  me,  and  I 
used  invariably  to  attend  him  for  the  pleasure  of  hear- 
ing these  communications.  Sometimes  our  conversation 
turned  on  the  American  war,  which  was  then  raging.  It  17° 


THE  EARLY  LIFE   OF  SCOTT.  7 

was  about  the  time  of  Burgoyne's  unfortunate  expedi- 
tion, to  which  my  captain  and  I  augured  different  con- 
clusions. Somebody  had  showed  me  a  map  of  North 
America,  and,  struck  with  the  rugged  appearance  of  the 
country  and  the  quantity  of  lakes,  I  expressed  some  175 
doubts  on  the  subject  of  the  general's  arriving  safely  at 
the  end  of  his  journey,  which  were  very  indignantly  re- 
futed by  the  captain.  The  news  of  the  Saratoga  disas- 
ter,1 while  it  gave  me  a  little  triumph,  rather  shook  my 
intimacy  with  the  veteran."  180 

At  Prestonpans  the  young  Scott  met  also  with  George 
Constable,  who  was  the  original  of  Jonathan  Oldbuck 
in  the  novel  of  The  Antiquary.  He  told  the  child  "  about 
Falstaff  and  Hotspur  and  other  characters  in  Shakes- 
peare," and  Scott  says  that  he  remembers  being  inter- 185 
ested  in  the  subject,  which  would  seem  to  be  beyond 
his  comprehension  at  that  early  age.  He  adds:  "In- 

1  Scott  speaks  of  this  intimacy  with  Captain  Dalgetty  as  being 
when  he  was  in  his  eighth  year ;  but  as  the  surrender  at  Saratoga 
was  in  October,  1777,  he  was  little  more  than  six  years  old  at  the 
time. 

A  letter  written  by  Mrs.  Cockburn  presents  an  interesting  picture 
of  Scott  at  six :  "  I  last  night  supped  in  Mr.  Walter  Scott's.  He 
has  the  most  extraordinary  genius  of  a  boy  I  ever  saw.  He  was 
reading  a  poem  to  his  mother  when  I  went  in.  I  made  him  read 
on ;  it  was  the  description  of  a  shipwreck.  His  passion  rose  with 
the  storm.  He  lifted  his  eyes  and  hands.  '  There's  the  mast  gone,' 
says  he ;  '  crash  it  goes ! — they  will  all  perish  !'  After  his  agitation, 
he  turns  to  me  :  '  That  is  too  melancholy ;  I  had  better  read  you 
something  more  amusing.'  I  preferred  a  little  chat,  and  asked  his 
opinion  of  Milton  and  other  books  he  was  reading,  which  he  gave 
me  wonderfully.  .  .  .  When  taken  to  bed  last  night,  he  told  his  aunt 
he  liked  that  lady  [the  writer],  '  for  I  think  she  is  a  virtuoso  like 
myself.' — '  Dear  Walter,'  says  Aunt  Jenny,  '  what  is  a  virtuoso  ?' — 
'  Don't  ye  know  ?  Why,  it 's  one  who  wishes  and  will  know  every- 
thing.' " 


8  THE  EARLY  LIFE   OF  SCOTT. 

deed,  I  rather  suspect  that  children  derive  impulses  of 
.  a  powerful  and  important  kind  in  hearing  things  which 
they  cannot  entirely  comprehend,  and  therefore  that  to  19° 
write  down  to  children's  understanding  is  a  mistake  : 
set  them  on  the  scent,  and  let  them  puzzle  it  out." 

After  the  stay  at  Prestonpans  Walter  returned  to  Ed-  . 
inburgh,  where  he  continued  to  reside  for  the  most  part 
until  his  marriage.     His  mother  had  "  a  strong  turn  to  195 
study  poetry  and  works  of  imagination,"  and  his  leisure 
hours  were  usually  spent  in  reading  aloud  to  her  from 
Pope's  translation  of  Homer,  which,  excepting  a  few 
ballads  and  songs,  was  the  first  poetry  he  had  perused. 
He  says  in  this  connection  :  200 

"  My  mother  had  good  natural  taste  and  great  feel- 
ing :  she  used  to  make  me  pause  upon  those  passages 
which  expressed  generous  and  worthy  sentiments,  and 
if,  she  could  not  divert  me  from  those  which  were  de- 
/scriptive  of  battle  and  tumult,  she  contrived  at  least  to  305 
divide  my  attention  between  them.     My  own  enthusiasm, 
however,  was  chiefly  awakened  by  the  wonderful  and 
i    the  terrible — the  common  taste  of  children,  but  in  which 
V^I  have  remained  a  child  even  unto  this  day.     I  got  by 
heart,  not  as  a  task  but  almost  without  intending  it,  the  210 
passages  with  which  I  was  most  pleased,  and  used  to 
recite  them  aloud,  both  when  alone  and  to  others — more 
willingly,  however,  in  my  hours  of  solitude,  for  I  had 
observed  some  auditors  smile,  and  I  dreaded  ridicule 
"at  that  time  of  life  more  than  I  have  ever  done  since."    215 

In  1778  Walter  was  sent  to  the  High  School  of  Edin- 
burgh, then  taught  by  Mr.  Luke  Fraser.  Though  he 
had  studied  Latin  under  a  private  teacher,  he  was  some- 
what behind  the  class  in  which  he  was  now  placed,  and 
this  disadvantage  he  appears  never  to  have  overcome.  220 


THE  EARLY  LIFE  OF  SCOTT.  9 

"I  did  not  make  any  great  figure  at  the  High  School," 
he  tells  us;  "or,  at  least,  any  exertions  which  I  made 
were  desultory  and  little  to  be  depended  on."  His  rela- 
tions with  his  schoolmates  were  on  the  whole  more 
pleasant  than  with  his  teachers.  He  says :  225 

^  Among  my  companions  my  good-nature  and  a  flow 
.  ready  imagination  rendered  me  very  popular.  Boys 
are  uncommonly  just  in  their  feelings,  and  at  least 
equally  generous.  My  lameness,  and  the  efforts  which 
I  made  to  supply  that  disadvantage,  by  making  up  in  230 
address  what  I  wanted  in  activity,  engaged  the  latter 
principle  in  my  favor ;  and  in  the  winter  play  -  hours, 
when  hard  exercise  was  impossible,  my  tales  used  to 
assemble  an  admiring  audience  round  Lucky  Brown's 
fireside,  and  happy  was  he  that  could  sit  next  to  the  235 
inexhaustible  narrator.  I  was  also,  though  often  negli- 
/  gent  of  my  own  task,  always  ready  to  assist  my  friends ; 
/  and  hence  I  had  a  little  party  of  stanch  partisans  and 
adherents,  stout  of  hand  and  heart,  though  somewhat 
dull  of  head — the  very  tools  for  raising  a  hero  to  emi-240 
nence.  So,  on  the  whole,  I  made  a  brighter  figure  in 
the  yards  than  in  the  class.  .  .  . 

"  After  having  been  three  years  under  Mr.  Fraser,  our 
class  was,  in  the  usual  routine  of  the  school,  turned  over 
to  Dr.  Adam,  the  Rector.  It  was  from  this  respectable  245 
man  that  I  first  learned  the  value  of  the  knowledge  I 
had  hitherto  considered  only  as  a  burdensome  task.  It 
was  the  fashion  to  remain  two  years  at  his  class,  where 
we  read  Caesar  and  Livy  and  Sallust,  in  prose ;  Virgil, 
Horace,  and  Terence,  in  verse.  I  had  by  this  time  250 
mastered,  in  some  degree,  the  difficulties  of  the  language, 
and  began  to  be  sensible  of  its  beauties.  This  was  really 
gathering  grapes  from  thistles ;  nor  shall  I  soon  forget 


10  THE  EARLY  LIFE   OF  SCOTT. 

the  swelling  of  my  little  pride  when  the  Rector  pro- 
nounced, that,  though  many  of  my  school-fellows  under- 
stood the  Latin  better,  Gualterus  Scott  was  behind  few  ass 
in  following  and  enjoying  the  author's  meaning.  Thus 
encouraged,  I  distinguished  myself  by  some  attempts  at 
poetical  versions  from  Horace  and  Virgil.1  Dr.  Adam 
used  to  invite  his  scholars  to  such  essays,  but  never 
made  them  tasks.  I  gained  some  distinction  upon  these  260 
occasions,  and  the  Rector  in  future  took  much  notice 
of  me  ;  and  his  judicious  mixture  of  censure  and  praise 
went  far  to  counterbalance  my  habits  of  indolence  and 
inattention.  I  saw  I  was  expected  to  do  well,  and  I  was 
piqued  in  honor  to  vindicate  my  master's  favorable  265 
opinion.  I  climbed,  therefore,  to  the  first  form  ;  and, 
though  I  never  made  a  first-rate  Latinist,  my  school-fel- 
lows, and,  what  was  of  more  consequence,  I  myself,  con- 
sidered that  I  had  a  character  for  learning  to  main- 
tain. ...  27° 

1  Lockhart  informs  us  that  "one  of  these  little  pieces,  written  in 
a  weak  boyish  scrawl,  within  pencil  marks  still  visible,  had  been 
carefully  preserved  by  his  mother."  It  was  folded  up  in  a  cover 
inscribed  by  the  old  lady,  "  My  Walter's' first  lines,  1782  "  (when  he 
was  eleven  years  old),  and  reads  thus : 

"  In  awful  ruins  jEtna  thunders  nigh. 
And  sends  in  pitchy  whirlwinds  to  the  sky 
Black  clouds  of  smoke,  which,  still  as  they  aspire, 
From  their  dark  sides  there  bursts  the  glowing  fire; 
At  other  times  huge  balls  of  fire  are  toss'd, 
That  lick  the  stars  and  in  the  smoke  are  lost : 
Sometimes  the  mount,  with  vast  convulsions  torn, 
Emits  huge  rocks,  which  instantly  are  borne 
With  loud  explosions  to  the  starry  skies, 
The  stones  made  liquid  as  the  huge  mass  flies, 
Then  back  again  with  greater  weight  recoils, 
While  .(Etna  thundering  from  the  bottom  boils." 

This  is  evidently  a  version  of  Virgil's  sEneid,  iii.  571-577. 


THE  EARLY  LIFE   OF  SCOTT.  n 

"  From  Dr.  Adam's  class  I  should,  according  to  the 
usual  routine,  have  proceeded  immediately  to  college. 
•But,  fortunately,  I  was  not  yet  to  lose,  by  a  total  dismis- 
sion from  constraint,  the  acquaintance  with  the  Latin 
which  I  had  acquired.  My  health  had  become  rather  275 
delicate  from  rapid  growth,  and  my  father  was  easily 
persuaded  to  allow  me  to  spend  half  a  year  at  Kelso 
with  my  kind  aunt,  Miss  Janet  Scott.  .  .  .  My  time  was 
here  left  entirely  to  my  own  disposal,  excepting  for 
about  four  hours  in  the  day,  when  I  was  expected  to  at- 280 
tend  the  grammar-school1  of  the  village.  The  teacher 
at  that  time  was  Mr.  Lancelot  Whale,  an  excellent  clas- 
sical scholar,  a  humorist,  and  a  worthy  man.  ...  I 
made  considerable  progress  under  his  instructions.  .  .  . 
I  acted  as  usher,  and  heard  the  inferior  classes,  and  1285 
spouted  the  speech  of  Galgacus  at  the  public  examina- 
tion, which  did  not  make  the  less  impression  on  the  au- 
dience that  few  of  them  probably  understood  one  word 
of  it. 

"In  the  meanwhile  my  acquaintance  with  English  lit- 290 
erature  was  gradually  extending  itself.     In  the  intervals 
of  my  school  hours  I  had  always  perused  with  avidity 
such  books  of  history  or  poetry  or  voyages  and  travels 
as  chance  presented  to  me, — not  forgetting  the  usual,  or 
rather  ten  times  the  usual,  quantity  of  fairy  tales,  Eastern  295 
stories,  romances,  etc.     These  studies  were  totally  un- 
regulated and  undirected.     My  tutor  thought  it  almost 
a  sin  to  open  a  profane  play  or  poem ;  and  my  mother, 
besides  that  she  might  be  in  some  degree  trammelled 
by  the  religious  scruples   which  he  suggested,  had  no  300 
longer  the  opportunity  to  hear  me  read  poetry  as  for- 

1  Not  a  grammar-school  in  the  American  sense,  but  a  Latin 
school. 


I2  THE   EARLY  LIFE   OF  SCOTT. 

merly.  I  found,  however,  in  her  dressing-room  (where 
I  slept  at  one  time)  some  odd  volumes  of  Shakespeare ; 
nor  can  I  easily  forget  the  rapture  with  which  I  sate  up 
in  my  shirt  reading  them  by  the  light  of  a  fire  in  her  3°s 
apartment,  until  the  bustle  of  the  family  rising  from  sup- 
per warned  me  it  was  time  to  creep  back  to  my  bed, 
where  I  was  supposed  to  have  been  safely  deposited 
since  nine  o'clock.  Chance,  however,  threw  in  my  way 
a  poetical  preceptor.  This  was  no  other  than  the  excel-  31° 
.lent  and  benevolent  Dr.  Blacklock,  well  known  at  that 
time  as  a  literary  character.  .  .  .  The  kind  old  man 
opened  to  me  the  stores  of  his  library,  and  through 
his  recommendation  I  became  intimate  with  Ossian 
and  Spenser.  I  was  delighted  with  both,  yet  I  think  315 
chiefly  with  the  latter  poet.  The  tawdry  repetitions  of 
the  Ossianic  phraseology  disgusted  me  rather  sooner 
than  might  have  been  expected  from  my  age.  But 
Spenser  I  could  have  read  forever.  Too  young  to 
trouble  myself  about  the  allegory,  I  considered  all  the  320 
knights  and  ladies  and  dragons  and  giants  in  their  out- 
ward and  exoteric '  sense,  and  God  only  knows  how  de- 
lighted I  was  to  find  myself  in  such  society.  As  I  had 
always  a  wonderful  facility  in  retaining  in  my  memory 
whatever  verses  pleased  me,  the  quantity  of  Spenser's  325 
stanzas  which  I  could  repeat  was  really  marvellous. 
But  this  memory  of  mine  was  a  very  fickle  ally,  and  has 
through  my  whole  life  acted  merely  upon  its  own  capri- 
cious motion.  ...  It  seldom  failed  to  preserve  most 
tenaciously  a  favorite  passage  of  poetry,  a  playhouse  33° 
ditty,  or,  above  all,  a  Border- raid  ballad;  but  names, 
dates,  and  the  other  technicalities  of  history  escaped  me 
in  a  most  melancholy  degree.  The  philosophy  of  history, 
1  Obvious. 


THE  EARLY  LIFE   OF  SCOTT.  I3 

a  much  more  important  subject,  was  also  a  sealed  book 
at  this  period  of  my  life ;  but  I  gradually  assembled  335 
much  of  what  was  striking  and  picturesque  in  historical 
narrative ;  and  when,  in  riper  years,  I  attended  more  to 
the  deduction  of  general  principles,  I  was  furnished  with 
a  powerful  host  of  examples  in  illustration  of  them.  .  .  . 

"I  left  the  High  School,  therefore,  with  a  great  quan-34° 
tity  of  general  information,  ill  arranged,  indeed,  and  col- 
lected without  system,  yet  deeply  impressed  upon  my 
mind  ;  readily  assorted  by  my  power  of  connection  and 
memory,  and  gilded,  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  so,  by 
a  vivid  and  active  imagination.  If  my  studies  were  not  345 
under  any  direction  at  Edinburgh,  in  the  country,  it  may 
be  well  imagined,  they  were  less  so.  A  respectable 
subscription  library,  a  circulating  library  of  ancient 
standing,  and  some  private  book-shelves  were  open  to 
my  random  perusal,  and  I  waded  into  the  stream  like  a  35° 
blind  man  into  a  ford,  without  the  power  of  searching 
my  way,  unless  by  groping  for  it.  My  appetite  for  books 
was  as  ample  and  indiscriminating  as  it  was  indefatiga- 
ble, and  I  since  have  had  too  frequently  reason  to  repent 
that  few  ever  read  so  much,  and  to  so  little  purpose.  ...  ass 

"  I  then  first  became  acquainted  with  Bishop  Percy's 
Reliques  of  Ancient  Poetry.  ...  I  remember  well  the 
spot  where  I  read  these  volumes  for  the  first  time.  It 
was  beneath  a  huge  platanus-tree,1  in  the  ruins  of  what 
had  been  intended  for  an  old-fashioned  arbor  in  the  36° 
garden  I  have  mentioned.  The  summer-day  sped  on- 
ward so  fast,  that,  notwithstanding  the  sharp  appetite  of 
thirteen,  I  forgot  the  hour  of  dinner,  was  sought  for  with 
anxiety,  and  was  still  found  entranced  in  my  intellect- 

1  Plane-tree.     In  Scotland  the  name  is  commonly  given  to  the 
sycamore. 


I4  THE  EARLY  LIFE   OF  SCOTT. 

ual  banquet.     To  read  and  to  remember  was  in  this  365 
instance  the  same  thing,  and  henceforth  I  overwhelmed 
my  school -fellows,  and  all  who  would  hearken  to  me, 
with  tragical  recitations  from  the  ballads  of  Bishop  Per- 
cy.    The  first  time,  too,  I  could  scrape  a  few  shillings 
together,  which  were  not  common  occurrences  with  me,  37° 
I  bought  unto  myself  a  copy  of  these  beloved  volumes; 
nor  do  I  believe  I  ever  read  a  book  half  so  frequently, 
or  with  half  the  enthusiasm.     About  this  period  also  I 
became  acquainted  with  the  works  of  Richardson,  and 
those  of  Mackenzie  (whom  in  later  years  I  became  en-  375 
titled  to  call  my  friend),  with  Fielding,  Smollett,  and 
some  others  of  our  best  novelists. 

"  To  this  period  also  I  can  trace  distinctly  the  awak- 
ing of  that  delightful  feeling  for  the  beauties  of  natural 
objects  which  has  never  since  deserted  me.    The  neigh- 380 
borhood  of  Kelso,  the   most  beautiful  if  not  the  most 
romantic  village  in  Scotland,  is  eminently  calculated  to 
awaken  these  ideas.    It  presents  objects,  not  only  grand 
in  themselves,  but  venerable  from  their  associations.  .  .  . 
The  romantic  feelings  which  I  have  described  as  pre-38s 
dominating  in  my  mind,  naturally  rested  upon  and  as- 
sociated themselves  with  these  grand  features   of  the 
landscape  around  me  ;  and  the  historical  incidents  or 
traditional  legends  connected  with  many  of  them  gave 
to  my  admiration  a  sort  of  intense  impression  of  rever-  39° 
ence,  which  at  times  made  my  heart  feel  too  big  for  its 
bosom.      From   this  time  the  love  of  natural   beauty, 
more  especially  when  combined  with  ancient  ruins,  or 
remains  of  our  fathers'  piety  or  splendor,  became  with 
me  an  insatiable  passion,  which,  if  circumstances  had  395 
permitted,  I  would  willingly  have  gratified  by  travelling 
over  half  the  globe." 


THE  EARLY  LIFE   OF  SCOTT.  15 

Scott  returned  to  Edinburgh  and  resumed  his  studies 
in  the  College,  where  he  began  Greek  under  the  same 
disadvantage  with  which  he  had  started  in  Latin,  his4°o 
companions  having  already  learned  the  elements  of  the 
language.  One  of  them,  who  was  an  excellent  scholar, 
told  Walter  that  he  was  "  distinguished  by  the  name  of 
the  Greek  blockhead"  and  exhorted  him  to  redeem  his 
reputation,  but  to  no  purpose.  Later  his  teacher  de-4°s 
clared  that  "  dunce  he  was,  and  dunce  was  to  remain." 
In  after-life  he  says  he  "forgot  the  very  letters  of  the 
Greek  alphabet." 

Of  mathematics  he  got  "  a  very  superficial  smatter- 
ing," but  made  some  progress  in  ethics  under  Professor  41° 
John  Bruce,  and  "  was  selected  as  one  of  his  students 
whose  progress  he  approved,  to  read  an  essay  before 
Principal  Robertson."   He  also  studied  moral  philosophy 
(under  Dugald  Stewart)  and  history,  but  little  else  until 
he  began  his  legal  studies.     "So  that,"  he  says,  "if  my  415 
learning  be  flimsy  and  inaccurate,  the  reader  must  have 
some  compassion  even  for  an  idle  workman  who  had 
so  narrow  a  foundation  to  build  upon.     If,  however,  it 
should  ever  fall  to  the  lot  of  youth  to  peruse  these  pages 
— let  such  a  reader  remember,  that  it  is  with  the  deepest  420 
regret  that  I  recollect  in  my  manhood  the  opportunities 
of  learning  which  I  neglected  in  my  youth;  that  through 
every  part  of  my  literary  career  I  have  felt  pinched  and 
hampered  by  my  own  ignorance ;  and  that  I  would  at 
this  moment  give  half  the  reputation  I  have  had  the  425 
good-fortune  to  acquire,  if  by  doing  so  I  could  rest  the 
remaining  part  upon  a  sound  foundation  of  learning  and 
science." 


THE   LATER   LIFE   OF  SCOTT. 


To  the  somewhat  detailed  account  of  Scott's  early 
years  given  in  the  preceding  pages,  we  may  add  a  brief 
sketch  of  his  after-life. 

In  1792  he  was  admitted  to  the  Scottish  bar.  Through 
his  father's  influence  he  obtained  some  employment,  but  5 
not  enough  to  keep  him  busy.  It  was  not,  however, 
until  1796  that  he  turned  his  attention  to  literature.  In 
that  year  he  published  translations  of  the  German  Burg- 
er's ballads,  Lenore  and  The  Wild  Huntsman.  These 
attracted  some  attention,  and  led  to  his  contributing  a  '° 
few  pieces  to  Lewis's  Tales  of  Wonder.  In  1799  he 
translated  Goethe's  Gotz  von  Berlichingen.  In  1802  he 
published  the  first  two  volumes  of  the  Border  Minstrelsy, 
printed  by  his  old  schoolmate  Ballantyne,  who  had  just 

up  in  business  at  Kelso.     The  work  was  received  is 
with  great  favor,  which  was  augmented  by  the  appear- 
ance of  the  third  volume  (1803)  containing  some  origi- 
nal imitations  of  the  old  ballads. 

The  next  important  event  in  Scott's  literary  life  was 
the  publication  of  The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel  in  1-805. ao 
Its  success  was  extraordinary,  and  the  author  became  at 
once  the  most  popular  poet  of  the  day.     Marmion  fol- 


THE   LATER   LIFE   OF  SCOTT.  tj 

lowed  in  1808,  and  The  Lady  of  the  Lake  in  1810.    With 
the  latter  his  poetic  fame  may  be  said  to  have  reached  its 
height.]  The  Vision  of  Don  Roderick,  Rokeby,  The  Lord*$ 
of  the  Isles,  and  other  poems  that  followed,  were  not  so 
well  received. 

Meanwhile  Scott  had  been  appointed  Sheriff  of  Sel- 
kirkshire and  one  of  the  clerks  of  the  Court  of  Session, 
the  combined  salaries  being  about  ;£i8oo   ($9000)   a  3° 
year,  independent  of  his  large  receipts  from  his  books. 
He  became  ambitious  to  be  a  large  landed  proprietor, 
and  ran  into  debt  by  the  purchase  of  the  estate  of  Ab- 
botsford  and  the  erection  of  the  mansion,  to  which  he 
removed  in  1812.     He  also  engaged  in  unfortunate  com-ss 
mercial  transactions  to  which  reference  will  be  made  far- 
ther on. 

The  decline  in  his  popularity  as  a  poet  had  turned  his 
thoughts  to  the  almost  forgotten  manuscript  of  Waverley, 
which  he  had  begun  nine  years  before,  but  had  laid  aside  4° 
on  account  of  the  discouraging  comments  of  a  friend  to 
whom  he  had  shown  it.  He  now  resolved  to  complete 
it,  and  it  was  published  anonymously  in  1814.  The  un- 
known "  author  of  Waverley  "  leaped  into  greater  fame 
than  the  poet  Scott  had  attained  by  the  Lay  and  Mar-& 
mion ;  but  he  preserved  his  incognito,  and  sent  forth 
Guy  Mannering,  The  Antiquary,  Rob  Roy,  etc.,  in  rapid 
succession  and  with  ever-increasing  renown.  Carlyle, 
who  lived  through  all  the  excitement,  says :  "  Hardly 
any  literary  reputation  ever  rose  so  high  in  our  island ;  s° 
no  reputation  at  all  ever  spread  so  wide.  Walter  Scott 
became  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Baronet,  of  Abbotsford,  on 
whom  fortune  seemed  to  pour  her  whole  cornucopia  of 
wealth,  honor,  and  worldly  good,  the  favorite  of  princes 
and  of  peasants  and  all  intermediate  men.  His  Waverley  ss 


1 8  THE  LATER  LIFE   OF  SCOTT. 

series,  swift  following  one  on  the  other  apparently  without 
end,  was  the  universal  reading ;  looked  for  like  an  an- 
nual harvest,  by  all  ranks,  in  all  European  countries." 

Scott  himself  was  naturally  led  to  regard  his  literary 
powers  as  an  exhaustless  mine  of  wealth,  and  became  60 
more  and  more  extravagant  in  enlarging  his  estate,  fit- 
ting up  Abbotsford,  and  exercising  a  generous  hospi- 
tality.    Unknown  to  his  friends  he  had  also  become  a 
partner  in  the  printing  business  of  the  Ballantynes ;  and 
when  the  house  failed,  owing  to  the  bankruptcy  of  the  65 
publisher  Constable  in  1826,  he  found  himself  a  debtor 
to  the  extent  of  £120,000  ($600,000). 

The  catastrophe  would  have  crushed  most  men,  but 
Scott  determined  to  pay  off  the  heavy  debt  with  his  pen 
if  his  creditors  would  allow  him  time.     He  disclosed  the  r> 
secret  of  the  Waverley  authorship,  and  began  a  new  novel 
at  once.     This  was  Woodstock,  which  brought  his  credit- 
ors £8000  ($40,000).     His  Life  of  Napoleon,  written  with 
almost  incredible  speed  and  published  the  next  year 
(1827),  realized  from  the  first  and  second  editions  £18-75 
ooo  more.     In  two  years  Scott  paid  off  £40,000  of  his 
debts,  and  in  the  course  of  four  years  almost  £70,000. 
But  the  strain  upon  his  powers  of  mind  and  body  was 
too  severe,  and  in  1831  he  was  led  to  give  up  literary  work 
for  a  time  and  make  a  tour  to  the  Continent.     He  spent  80 
five  months  in  Italy,  in  the  hope  of  regaining  his  health  ; 
but  it  was  too  late.     "There  are  glimpses  in  the  me- 
moirs of  that  time — glimpses  inexpressibly  sad — of  the 
dying  man  in  Italy,  at  Naples,  on  the  Campagna.1     It 
is  only  the  shadow  of  the  stalwart  Scott.     He  sits  for  85 
hours  gazing  upon  the  sea ;  he  moves  restlessly  about ; 

i  The  Roman  Campagna  (Italian  for  open  country),  the  desolate 
plain  surrounding  the  city  of  Rome. 


THE   LATER  LIFE  OF  SCOTT.  19 

he  repeats,  in  a  tone  so  mournful  that  the  heart  breaks 
to  hear,  snatches  of  the  old,  old  ballads  that  his  youth 
loved,  and  which  are  dear  to  all  men  who  speak  his  lan- 
guage because  he  loved  them.  Then  he  comes  home  to  9° 
die.  Gentle  as  a  child,  he  has  been  unspoiled  by  the 
flattery  of  a  world.  Through  the  mists  of  the  fast-fading 
mind  looks  out  that  true  and  tender  manhood  which  is 
forever  memorable.  '  Be  a  good  man,  my  dear,'  he  whis- 
pers to  his  son-in-law  Lockhart,  and  on  a  soft  September  95 
afternoon,  with  all  the  windows  wide  open,  and  the  gen- 
tle ripple  of  the  Tweed  murmuring  upon  the  air,  while 
his  children  knelt  around  the  bed,  Walter  Scott  died, 
'and  his  eldest  son  kissed  and  closed  his  eyes.'" 

It  was  in  June,  1832,  that  Scott  returned  to  England, »°° 
and  his  death  occurred  on  the  2ist  of  September  fol- 
lowing.    He  was  buried  in  St.  Mary's  Aisle,  the  most 
beautiful  part  of  the  ruined   Dryburgh  Abbey,  in   the 
tomb  of  his  ancestors,  the   Haliburtons  of  Newmains, 
who  were  at  one  time  proprietors  of  the  abbey.     His  I05 
wife,  who  died  six  years  before  him,  lies  by  his  side. 
His  eldest  son,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  his  son-in-law  and 
biographer  Lockhart  are  also  buried  here. 

Scott's  children  were  all  dead  within  fifteen  years  of 
his  own  decease,  and  at  the  present  time  (1887)  onlyno 
one  of  his  direct  descendants  survives — Mary  Monica 
Hope-Scott,  the  grandchild  of  Mrs.  Lockhart  and  great- 
grandchild of  the  founder  of  Abbotsford. 


TALES    OF   CHIVALRY   AND    THE 
OLDEN    TIME. 


THE    CRUSADERS. 

THE  devotional  journeys,  called  pilgrimages,  to  the 
tombs  of  the  religious  persons  mentioned  in  Scripture, 
or  the  places  where  they  had  wrought  their  miracles, 
were  accounted  meritorious  displays  of  piety,  the  per- 
formance of  which,  by  the  tenets  of  the  Catholic  Church,  5 
was  held  the  surest  and  most  acceptable  mode  of  avert- 
ing the  wrath  of  Heaven  for  past  transgressions,  or  ex- 
hibiting gratitude  for  mercies  received.  Men  who  were 
in  difficulties  or  in  dangers  often  made  a  vow,  that,  in 
the  event  of  their  being  extricated,  they  would  make  a  10 
journey  to  some  sanctified  shrine  in  Italy  or  in  Pales- 
tine, and  there  testify  their  sense  of  the  protection  of 
Heaven,  by  alms,  prayers,  and  gifts  to  the  church.  The 
Holy  Sepulchre  itself,  of  which  the  site  was  handed  down 
by  tradition,  was  naturally  a  principal  object  of  these  re-«s 
ligious  peregrinations,  as  best  entitled  to  the  respect 
and  adoration  of  all  Christians. 

While  Palestine  remained  a  part  of  the  Grecian  or 
Eastern  Empire,  the  access  of  the  European  pilgrims  to 
the  holy  places  which  they  desired  to  visit,  was  natu-ao 
rally  facilitated  by  every  means  in  the  power  of  the  Chris- 
tian governors  of  the  provinces  where  they  lay,  and  of 


22  THE   CRUSADERS. 

the  priests  to  whose  keeping  these  places  were  commit- 
ted. Their  churches  were  enriched  by  the  gifts  which 
failed  not  to  express  the  devotion  of  the  pilgrims,  and  25 
the  vanity  of  the  priests  was  flattered  by  the  resort  of  so 
many  persons  of  consequence  from  the  most  distant  parts 
of  Christendom,  to  worship  at  their  peculiar  shrines. 

Even  when,  in  the  course  of  the  tenth  century,  the 
Holy  Land  fell  under  the  power  of  the  Saracens,  that  2° 
people,  although  votaries  of  another  faith,  felt  their  own 
interest  in  permitting,  under  payment  of  a  certain  capi- 
tation tax,1  the  concourse  of  European  pilgrims  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  other  places  which  they  accounted  sacred. 
But  when  the  power  of  the  Saracens  was  in  a  great  meas-  as 
ure  divided  or  destroyed,  and  the  Turks,  also  followers 
of  Mahomet,  but  a  far  more  rude  and  fanatical,  race, 
became  masters  of  Jerusalem,  the  treatment  of  the  Chris- 
tians, whether  natives  of  Palestine  or  pilgrims  who  came 
to  worship  there,  was  in  every  respect  changed  for  the  4° 
worse.  The  Saracens,  a  civilized  and  refined  people 
compared  with  the  Turks,  had  governed  the  country  un- 
der fixed  rules  of  tribute,  and  preferred  the  moderate 
but  secure  profit  derived  from  the  taxes  imposed  on  the 
pilgrims,  to  that  which  might  be  obtained  by  a  system  45 
of  robbery,  plunder,  and  ill-usage.  But  the  Turks,  a 
fiercer,  more  bigoted,  and  more  short-sighted  race,  pre- 
ferred the  pleasure  of  insulting  and  maltreating  the  Chris- 
tians, whom  they  contemned  and  hated,  and  not  only 
harassed  them  by  the  most  exorbitant  exactions,  but  often  5° 
added  to  these  personal  ill-usage  of  the  most  revolting 
kind.  The  pilgrims  were  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  every 
paltry  Turkish  officer,  and  an  act  of  devotion,  in  itself 
perilous  and  expensive,  was  rendered  too  frequently  an 
1  Poll-tax,  or  a  tax  on  each  person. 


RICHARD  I.  OF  ENGLAND. 


24  THE  CRUSADERS. 

introduction  to  martyrdom.  The  clergy  of  the  Chris-  ss 
tians  were  insulted,  stripped,  and  thrown  into  dungeons  ; 
nor  was  any  circumstance  omitted  by  the  savage  mas- 
ters of  the  Holy  City  which  could  show  the  pilgrims  at 
how  great  a  hazard  they  must  in  future  expect  permis- 
sion to  pay  their  homage  there.  6° 

These  evils  had  been  sufficiently  felt  by  all  who  had 
visited  the  East,  but  at  length  they  made  so  strong  an 
impression  on  the  spirit  of  one  man  that,  like  fire  alight- 
ing among  materials  highly  combustible,  the  flame  spread 
throughout  all  Europe.  The  person  who  effected  so  great  65 
a  sensation  by  such  slight  means  was  called  Peter  the 
Hermit.  He  was,  we  are  informed,  of  a  slight  and  in- 
different figure,  which  sometimes  exposed  him  to  be  neg- 
lected ;  but  he  was  a  powerful  orator.  He  had  himself 
been  a  pilgrim  in  Palestine,  and  possessed  the  impres-7° 
sive  requisite  that  he  could  bear  testimony  as  an  eye-wit- 
ness to  the  atrocities  of  the  Turks  and  the  sufferings  of 
the  Christians.  He  repaired  from  court  to  court,  from 
castle  to  castle,  from  city  to  city,  setting  forth  at  each 
the  shame  done  to  Christendom,  in  leaving  the  holiest  75 
places  connected  with  her  religion  in  possession  of  a 
heathen  and  barbarous  foe.  He  appealed  to  the  relig- 
ion of  one  sovereign,  to  the  fears  of  another,  to  the  spirit 
of  chivalry  professed  by  them  all.  Urban  II.,  then  Pope, 
saw  the  importance  of  uniting  the  European  nations,  sol-  80 
diers  by  habit  and  inclination,  in  a  task  so  honorable  to 
religion,  and  so  likely  to  give  importance  to  the  Roman 
See.  At  the  Council  of  Clermont  [A.D.  1095],  ambas- 
sadors from  the  Grecian  emperor  were  introduced  to  the 
assembly,  who,  with  humble  deference,  stated  to  the  85 
prelates  and  the  lay  chivalry  of  Europe  the  dangers  to 
their  Christian  sovereign,  arising  from  the  .increasing 


THE   CRUSADERS.  25 

strength  of  the  Moslem  empire,  by  which  he  was  sur- 
rounded, and,  forgetting  the  wordy  and  assuming  lan- 
guage which  they  were  accustomed  to  use,  supplicated,  9° 
with  humiliating  earnestness,  the  advantage  of  some  as- 
sistance from  Europe.  The  Pontiff  himself  set  forth  the 
advantage,  or  rather  necessity,  of  laying  all  meaner  or 
more  worldly  tasks  aside,  until  the  Holy  Land  should 
be  freed  from  the  heathen  usurpers  who  were  its  tyrants.  95 
To  all,  however  criminal,  who  should  lend  aid  to  this 
sacred  warfare,  Urban  promised  a  full  remission  of  their 
sins  here,  and  an  indubitable  portion  of  the  joys  of  heaven 
hereafter.  He  then  appealed  to  the  temporal  princes, 
with  the  enthusiastic  quotation  of  such  texts  of  Script- «» 
ure  as  were  most  likely  to  inflame  their  natural  valor. 
"  Gird  on  your  swords,"  he  said,  "  ye  men  of  valor ;  it 
is  our  part  to  pray,  it  is  yours  to  fight.  It  is  ours,  with 
Moses,1  to  hold  up  our  hands  unremittingly  to  God  ;  it 
is  yours  to  stretch  out  the  sword  against  the  children  of  i°s 
Amalek. — So  be  it."  The  assembly  answered,  as  to  a 
summons  blown  by  an  archangel,  "  It  is  the  will  of 
God — it  is  the  will  of  God  !"  Thousands  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  service  of  God,  as  they  imagined,  and  to 
the  recovery  of  Palestine,  with  its  shrines,  from  the  hands  "° 
of  the  Turks,  and,  as  a  mark  of  being  enlisted  in  the 
service,  began  to  wear  the  figure  of  a  cross  on  the  shoul- 
der of  their  cloak,  but  of  a  different  color  from  that  of 
the  garment  itself.  From  this  cross  the  undertaking 
was  called  a  Crusade,  and  those  who  were  engaged  in  "s 
it  Crusaders.  The  eagerness  with  which  this  holy  sym- 
bol was  adopted  was  so  great  that  some  of  the  princes 
cut  their  robes  in  pieces,  in  order  to  furnish  crosses  for 
the  multitudes  around. 

*  See  Exodus,  xvii.  8-13. 


THE  CHRISTIAN   KNIGHT  AND  THE 
SARACEN. 

THE  burning  sun  of  Syria  had  not  yet  attained  its 
highest  point  in  the  heavens,  when  a  knight  of  the  Red- 
cross,  who  had  left  his  distant  northern  home  and  joined 
the  host  of  the  Crusaders  in  Palestine,  was  pacing  slowly 
along  the  sandy  deserts  which  lie  in  the  vicinity  of  the  s 
Dead  Sea,  or,  as  it  is  called,  the  Lake  Asphaltites,  where 
the  waves  of  the  Jordan  pour  themselves  into  an  inland 
sea,  from  which  there  is  no  discharge  of  waters. 

The  warlike  pilgrim  had  toiled  among  cliffs  and  preci- 
pices during  the  earlier  part  of  the  morning ;  more  lately,  10 
issuing  from  those  rocky  and  dangerous  defiles,  he  had 
entered  upon  that  great  plain1  where  the  accursed  cities 
provoked  in  ancient  days  the  direct  and  dreadful  ven- 
geance of  the  Omnipotent. 

The  toil,  the  thirst,  the  dangers  of  the  way  were  for-  is 
gotten,  as  the  traveller  recalled  the  fearful  catastrophe 
which  had  converted  into  an  arid  and  dismal  wilderness 
the  fair  and  fertile  valley  of  Siddim,  once  well  watered, 
even  as  the  Garden  of  the  Lord,  now  a  parched  and 
blighted  waste,  condemned  to  eternal  sterility.  ao 

Crossing  himself,  as  he  viewed  the  dark  mass  of  roll- 

1  The  Plain  of  Jordan,  in  which  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  were  sit- 
uated.    See  Genesis,  xiii.  10-13,  etc- 


THE   CHRISTIAN  KNIGHT.  37 

ing  waters,  in  color  as  in  quality  unlike  those  of  every 
other  lake,  the  traveller  shuddered  as  he  remembered 
that  beneath  these  sluggish  waves  lay  the  once  proud 
cities  of  the  plain,  whose  grave  was  dug  by  the  thunder  25 
of  the  heavens,  or  the  eruption  of  subterraneous  fire,  and 
whose  remains  were  hid,  even  by  that  sea  which  holds 
no  living  fish  in  its  bosom,  bears  no  skiff  on  its  surface, 
and,  as  if  its  own  dreadful  bed  were  the  only  fit  recep- 
tacle for  its  sullen  waters,  sends  not,  like  other  lakes,  a  3° 
tribute  to  the  ocean.     The  whole  land  around,  as  in  the 
days  of  Moses,  was  "  brimstone  and  salt ;  it  is  not  sown, 
nor  beareth,  nor  any  grass  groweth  thereon  ;"  l  the  land 
as  well  as  the  lake  might  be  termed  dead,  as  producing 
nothing  having  resemblance  to  vegetation,  and  even  the  35 
very  air  was  entirely  devoid  of  its  ordinary  winged  in- 
habitants, deterred  probably  by  the  odor  of  bitumen  and 
sulphur,  which  the  burning  sun  exhaled  from  the  waters 
of  the  lake  in  steaming  clouds,  frequently  assuming  the 
appearance  of  waterspouts.     Masses  of  the  slimy  and  40 
sulphurous  substance  called  napjjiha,  which  floated  idly     < 
on  the  sluggish  and  sullen  waves,  supplied  those  rolling 
clouds  with  new  vapors,  and  afforded  awful  testimony  to 
the  truth  of  the  Mosaic  history. 

Upon  this  scene  of  desolation  the  sun  shone  with  al-45 
most  intolerable  splendor,  and  all  living  nature  seemed 
to  have  hidden  itself  from  the  rays,  excepting  the  soli- 
tary figure  which  appeared  the  sole  breathing  thing  on 
the  wide  surface  of  the  plain.     The_dress_of  the  rider 
and  the  accoutrements  of  his  horse  were  peculiarly  unfit  so 
for  the  traveller  in  such  a  country.     A  coat  of  linked 
mail,  with  long  sleeves,  plated  gauntlets,  and  a  steel 
breast-plate,  had  not  been  esteemed  a  sufficient  weight 
1  See  Deuteronomy,  xxix.  23. 


28  THE   CHRISTIAN  KNIGHT 

of  armor ;  there  was  also  his  triangular  shield  sus- 
pended round  his  neck,  and  his  barred  helmet  of  steel,  55 
over  which  he  had  a  hood  and  collar  of  mail,  which  was 
drawn  around  the  warrior's  shoulders  and  throat,  and 
rilled  up  the  vacancy  between  the  hauberk 1  and  the 
headpiece.  His  lower  limbs  were  sheathed,  like  his 
body,  in  flexible  mail,  securing  the  legs  and  thighs,  while  60 
the  feet  rested  in  plated  shoes,  which  corresponded  with 
the  gauntlets.  A  long,  broad,  straight-shaped,  double- 
edged  falchion,  with  a  handle  formed  like  a  cross,  cor- 
responded with  a  stout  poniard,  on  the  other  side. 
The  knight  also  bore,  secured  to  his  saddle,  with  one  6S 
end  resting  on  his  stirrup,  the  long  steel-headed  lance, 
his  own  proper  weapon,  which,  as  he  rode,  project- 
ed backwards,  and  displayed  its  little  pennoncelle, a 
to  dally  with  the  faint  breeze,  or  drop  in  the  dead 
calm.  To  this  cumbrous  equipment  must  be  added  a  70 
surcoat3  of  embroidered  cloth,  much  frayed  and  worn, 
which  was  thus  far  useful,  that  it  excluded  the  burning 
rays  of  the  sun  from  the  armor,  which  they  would  other- 
wise have  rendered  intolerable  to  the  wearer.  The  sur- 
coat bore,  in  several  places,  the  arms 4  of  the  owner,  al-  75 
though  much  defaced.  These  seemed  to  be  a  couchant6 
leopard,  with  the  motto,  "I  sleep — wake  me  not."  An 
outline  of  the  same  device  might  be  traced  on  his  shield, 
though  many  a  blow  had  almost  effaced  the  painting. 
The  flat  top  of  his  cumbrous  cylindrical  helmet  was  un-  80 

1  The  coat  of  mail  mentioned  just  above. 

s  Small  pennon,  or  flag,  attached  to  the  lance.   See  p.  70,  line  244. 
1  A  loose  sleeveless  wrapper  worn  outside  the  armor. 
4  Figures  or  devices  embroidered  upon  it,  indicating  who  the  knight 
was.     See  Notes. 
*  Lying  down. 


AND    THE  SARACEN.  29 

adorned  with  any  crest.  In  retaining  their  own  unwieldy 
defensive  armor,  the  Northern  Crusaders  seemed  to  set 
at  defiance  the  nature  of  the  climate  and  country  to 
which  they  had  come  to  war. 

The  accoutrements  of  the  horse  were  scarcely  less  85 
massive   and  unwieldy  than  those  of  the  rider.     The 
animal  had  a  heavy  saddle  plated  with  steel,  uniting  in 
front  with   a  species  of  breast-plate,  and  behind  with 
defensive  armor  made  to  cover  the  loins.     Then  there 
was  a  steel  axe,  or  hammer,  called  a  mace-of-arms,  and  90 
which  hung  to  the  saddle-bow ;  the  reins  were  secured 
by  chain-work,  and  the  front-stall  of  the  bridle  was  a 
steel    plate,  with   apertures  for  the  eyes  and   nostrils, 
having  in  the  midst  a  short,  sharp  pike,  projecting  from 
the  forehead  of  the  horse  like  the  horn  of  the  fabulous  95 
unicorn. 

But  habit  had  made  the  endurance  of  this  load  of  pan- 
oply a  second  nature,  both  to  the  knight  and  his  gallant 
charger.  Numbers,  indeed,  of  the  Western  warriors  who 
hurried  to  Palestine  died  ere  they  became  inured  to  the  100 
burning  climate  ;  but  there  were  others  to  whom  that 
climate  "became  innocent  and  even  friendly,  and  among 
this  fortunate  number  was  the  solitary  horseman  who 
now  traversed  the  border  of  the  Dead  Sea. 

Nature,  which  cast  his  limbs  in  a  mould  of  uncommon  105 
strength,  fitted  to  wear  his  linked  hauberk  with  as  much 
ease  as  if  the  meshes  had  been  formed  of  cobwebs,  had 
endowed  him  with  a  constitution  as  strong  as  his  limbs, 
and  which  bade  defiance  to  almost  all  changes  of  cli- 
mate, as  well  as  to  fatigue  and  privations  of  every  kind,  no 
His  disposition  seemed,  in  some  degree,  to  partake  of 
the  qualities  of  his  bodily  frame ;  and  as  the  one  pos- 
sessed great  strength   and  endurance,  united  with  the 


3o  THE   CHRISTIAN  KNIGHT 

power  of  violent  exertion,  the  other,  under  a  calm  and 
undisturbed  semblance,  had  much  of  the  fiery  and  en-  us 
thusiastic  love  of  glory  which  constituted  the  principal 
attribute  of  the  renowned  Norman '  line,  and  had  ren- 
dered them  sovereigns  in  every  corner  of  Europe  where 
they  had  drawn  their  adventurous  swords. 

It  was  not,  however,  to  all  the  race  that  fortune  pro- 120 
posed  such  tempting  rewards;  and  those  obtained  by 
the  solitary  knight  during  two  years'  campaign  in  Pales- 
tine had  been  only  temporal  fame,  and,  as  he  was  taught 
to  believe,  spiritual  privileges.     Meantime,  his  slender 
stock  of  money  had  melted  away,  the  rather  that  he  did  125 
not  pursue  any  of  the  ordinary  modes  by  which  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  Crusade  condescended  to  recruit  their  di- 
minished resources,  at  the  expense  of  the  people  of  Pal- 
estine ;  he  exacted  no  gifts  from  the  wretched  natives 
for  sparing  their  possessions  when  engaged  in  warfare  '3° 
with  the  Saracens,  and  he  had  not  availed  himself  of 
any  opportunity  of  enriching  himself  by  the  ransom  of 
prisoners  of  consequence.     The  small  train  which  had 
followed  him  from  his  native  country  had  been  gradu- 
ally diminished  as  the  means  of  maintaining  them  dis-'3S 
appeared;  and  his  only  remaining  squire2  was  at  present 
on  a  sick-bed,  and  unable  to  attend  his  master,  who  trav- 
elled, as  we  have  seen,  singly  and  alone.     This  was  of 
little  consequence  to  the  Crusader,  who  was  accustomed 
to  consider  his  good  sword  as  his  safest  escort,  and  de-  M° 
vout  thoughts  as  his  best  companion. 

Nature  had,  however,  her  demands  for  refreshment 
and  repose,  even  on  the  iron  frame  and  patient  dispo- 
sition of  the  Knight  of  the  Sleeping  Leopard ;  and  at 

1  Belonging  to  Normandy,  the  northern  part  of  France. 
*  Attendant  on  a  knight,  armor-bearer. 


AND   THE  SARACEN.  3! 

noon,  when  the  Dead  Sea  lay  at  some  distance  on  his  145 
right,  he  joyfully  hailed  the  sight  of  two  or  three  palm- 
trees,  which  arose  beside  the  well  which  was  assigned 
for  his  midday  station.      His   good  horse,  too,  which 
had  plodded  forward  with  the  steady  endurance  of  his 
master,  now  lifted  his  head,  expanded  his  nostrils,  and  150 
quickened  his  pace,  as  if  he  snuffed  afar  off  the  living 
waters  which  marked  the  place  of  repose  and  refresh- 
ment.    But  labor  and  danger  were  doomed  to  intervene 
ere  the  horse  or  horseman  reached  the  desired  spot. 

As  the  Knight  of  the  Couchant  Leopard  continued  to  155 
fix  his  eyes  attentively  on  the  yet  distant  cluster  of  palm- 
trees,  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  some  object  was  moving 
among  them.     The  distant  form  separated  itself  from 
the  trees,  which  partly  hid  its  motions,  and  advanced 
towards  the  knight  with  a  speed  which  soon  showed  a  160 
mounted  horseman,  whom  his  turban,  long  spear,  and 
green  caftan '   floating  in   the  wind,  on  his  nearer  ap- 
proach, showed  to  be  a  Saracen  cavalier.     "  In  the  des- 
ert, '^saithan_J£aj5tej[n_j3n)y^ 

The  Crusader  was  totally  indifferent  whether  the  infidel,  165 
who  now  approached  on  his  gallant  barb,  as  if  borne  on 
the  wings'  of  an  eagle,  came  as  friend  or  foe — perhaps, 
as  a  vowed  champion  of  the  Cross,  he  might  rather  have 
preferred  the  latter.     He  disengaged  his  lance  from  his 
saddle,  seized  it  with  the  right  hand,  placed  it  in  rest*  170 
with  its  point  half  elevated,  gathered  up  the  reins  in  the 
left,  waked  his  horse's  mettle  with  the  spur,  and  prepared 
to  encounter  the  stranger  with  the  calm  self-confidence 
belonging  to  the  victor  in  many  contests. 

1  A  kind  of  long  vest  with  sleeves,  fastened  round  the  waist  with 
a  girdle  ;  worn  in  Oriental  countries. 

8  To  lay  the  spear  in  rest,  or  couch  it,  was  to  put  its  butt  in  the 


32  THE   CHRISTIAN  KNIGHT 

The   Saracen  came  on   at  the  speedy  gallop  of  an  175 
Arab  horseman,  managing  his  steed  more  by  his  limbs 
and  the  inflection  of  his  body  than  by  any  use  of  the 
reins,  which  hung  loose  in  his  left  hand ;  so  that  he  was 
enabled  to  wield  the  light  round  buckler  of  the  skin  of 
the  rhinoceros,  ornamented  with  silver  loops,  which  he  180 
wore  on  his  arm,  swinging  it  as  if  he  meant  to  oppose 
its  slender  circle  to  the  formidable  thrust  of  the  Western 
lance.     His  own  long  spear  was  not  couched  or  levelled 
like  that  of  his  antagonist,  but  grasped  by  the  middle 
with  his  right  hand,  and  brandished  at  arm's  length  above  185 
his  head.     As  the  cavalier  approached  his  enemy  at  full 
career,  he  seemed  to  expect  that  the  Knight  of  the  Leop- 
ard should  put  his  horse  to  the  gallop  to  encounter  him. 
But  the  Christian  knight,  well  acquainted  with  the  cus- 
toms of  Eastern  warriors,  did  not  mean  to  exhaust  his  19° 
good  horse  by  any  unnecessary  exertion ;  and,  on  the 
contrary,  made   a  dead  halt,  confident  that  if  the  en- 
emy advanced  to  the  actual  shock,  his  own  weight,  and 
that  of  his  powerful  charger,  would  give  him  sufficient 
advantage,  without  the  additional  momentum  of  rapid  195 
motion.     Equally  sensible  and  apprehensive  of  such  a 
probable  result,  the  Saracen  cavalier,  when  he  had  ap- 
proached towards  the  Christian  within  twice  the  length 
of  his  lance,  wheeled  his  steed  to  the  left  with  inimita- 
ble dexterity,  and  rode  twice  round  his  antagonist,  who,  200 
turning  without  quitting  his  ground,  and  presenting  his 
front  constantly  to  his  enemy,  frustrated  his  attempts  to 
attack  him  on  an  unguarded  point ;  so  that  the  Saracen, 
wheeling  his  horse,  was  fain  to  retreat  to  the  distance 

projection  on  the  side  of  the  armor  called  the  rest ;  that  is,  in  posi- 
tion for  use  in  attack  or  defence. 


AND   THE  SARACEN,  33 

of  an  hundred  yards.     A  second  time,  like  a  hawk  *  at-  205 
tacking  a  heron,  the  heathen  renewed  the  charge,  and  a 
second  time  was  fain  to  retreat  without  coming  to  a  close 
struggle.     A  third  time  he  approached  in  the  same  man- 
ner, when  the  Christian  knight,  desirous  to  terminate  this 
elusory  warfare,  in  which  he  might  at  length  have  been  210 
worn  out  by  the  activity  of  his  foeman,  suddenly  seized 
'  the  mace  which  hung  at  his  saddlebow,  and,  with  a  strong 
hand  and  unerring  aim,  hurled  it  against  the  head  of  the 
Emir,2  for  such  and  not  less  his  enemy  appeared.     The 
Saracen  was  just  aware  of  the  formidable  missile  in  time  215 
to  interpose  his  light  buckler  betwixt  the  mace  and  his 
head  ;  but  the  violence  of  the  blow  forced  the  buckler 
down  on  his  turban,  and  though  that  defence  also  con- 
tributed to  deaden  its  violence,  the  Saracen  was  beaten 
from  his  horse.     Ere  the  Christian  could  avail  himself  of  220 
this  mishap,  his  nimble  foeman  sprung  from  the  ground, 
and  calling  on  his  horse,  which  instantly  returned  to  his 
side,  he  leapt  into  his  seat  without  touching  the  stjj-mp. 
and  regained  all  the  advantage  of  which  the  Knight  of 
the  Leopard  hoped  to  deprive  him.     But  the  latter  had  225 
in  the  meanwhile  recovered  his  mace,  and  the  Eastern 
cavalier,  who  remembered  the  strength  and  dexterity 
with  which  his  antagonist  had  aimed  it,  seemed  to  keep 
cautiously  out  of  reach  of  that  weapon,  of  which  he  had 
so  lately  felt  the  force,  while  he  showed  his  purpose  of  230 
waging  a  distant  warfare  with  missile  weapons  of  his 
own.     Planting  his  long  spear  in  the  sand  at  a  distance 
from  the  scene  of  combat,  he  strung,  with  great  address, 

1  That  is,  a  tame  hawk  or  falcon,  trained  to  attack  or  capture 
other  birds. 

8  The  title  given  in  Mohammedan  countries  to  an  independent 
chief. 


34  THE    CHRISTIAN  KNIGHT 

a  short  bow,  which  he  carried  on  his  back,  and  putting 
his  horse  to  the  gallop,  once  more  described  two  or  three  235 
circles  of  a  wider  extent  than  formerly,  in  the  course  of 
which  he  discharged  six  arrows  at  the  Christian  with 
such  unerring  skill  that  the  goodness  of  his  harness1 
alone  saved  him  from  being  wounded  in  as  many  places. 
The  seventh  shaft  apparently  found  a  less  perfect  part  24° 
of  the  armor,  and  the  Christian  dropped  heavily  from 
his  horse.  But  what  was  the  surprise  of  the  Saracen, 
when,  dismounting  to  examine  the  condition  of  his  pros- 
trate enemy,  he  found  himself  suddenly  within  the  grasp 
of  the  European,  who  had  had  recourse  to  this  artifice  to  245 
bring  his  enemy  within  his  reach!  Even  in  this  deadly 
grapple,  the  Saracen  was  saved  by  his  agility  and  pres- 
ence of  mind.  He  unloosed  the  sword-belt,  in  which 
the  Knight  of  the  Leopard  had  fixed  his  hold,  and,  thus 
eluding  his  fatal  grasp,  mounted  his  horse,  which  seemed  250 
to  watch  his  motions  with  the  intelligence  of  a  human 
being,  and  again  rode  off.  But  in  the  last  encounter  the 
Saracen  had  lost  his  sword  and  his  quiver  of  arrows, 
both  of  which  were  attached  to  the  girdle,  which  he  was 
obliged  to  abandon.  He  had  also  lost  his  turban  in  the  255 
struggle.  These  disadvantages  seemed  to  incline  the 
Moslem  to  a  truce.  He  approached  the  Christian  with 
his  right  hand  extended,  but  no  longer  in  a  menacing 
attitude. 

"  There  is  truce  betwixt  our  nations,"  he  said,  in  the  260 
lingua  franca2  commonly  used  for  the  purpose  of  com- 
munication with  the  Crusaders  ;  "  wherefore  should  there 
be  war  betwixt  thee  and  me  ? — Let  there  be  peace  be- 
twixt us." 

1  Armor. 

8  Literally,  free  tongue  ( Italian ) ;   a  language  or  dialect  under- 


AND    THE  SARACEN. 


35 


"I  am  well  contented,"  answered  he  of  the  CouchantaCs 
Leopard ;  "  but  what  security  dost  thou  offer  that  thou 
wilt  observe  the  truce  ?" 

"The  word  of  a  follower  of  the  Prophet  *  was  never  ***" 
broken,"  answered  the  Emir!     "  It  is  thou,  brave  Naza- 
rene,2  from  whom  I  should  demand  security,  did  I  not*7° 
know  that  treason  seldom  dwells  with  courage." 

The  Crusader  felt  that  the  confidence  of  the  Moslem 
made  him  ashamed  of  his  own  doubts. 

"  By  the  cross  of  my  sword,"  he  said,  laying  his  hand 
on  the  weapon  as  he  spoke,  "  I  will  be  true  companion  275 
to  thee,  Saracen,  while  our  fortune  wills  that  we  remain 
in  company  together !" 

"  By  Mohammed,  Prophet  of  God,  and  by  Allah,  God 
of  the  Prophet,"  replied  his  late  foeman,  "  there  is  not 
treachery  in  my  heart  towards  thee  !  And  now  wend  we  280 
to  yonder  fountain,  for  the  hour  of  rest  is  at  hand,  and 
the  stream  had  hardly  touched  my  lip  when  I  was  called 
to  battle  by  thy  approach." 

The  Knight  of  the  Couchant  Leopard  yielded  a  ready 
and  courteous  assent ;  and  the  late  foes,  without  an  an-  285 
gry  look  or  gesture  of  doubt,  rode  side  by  side  to  the 
little  cluster  of  palm-trees. 

We  have  spoken  of  a  moment  of  truce  in  the  midst 
of  war ;  and  this,  a  spot  of  beauty  in  the  midst  of  a  ster- 
ile desert,  was  scarce  less  dear  to  the  imagination.  It  29°  ; 
was  a  scene  which  perhaps  would  elsewhere  have  de- 
served little  notice ;  but  as  the  single  speck  in  a  bound- 
stood  over  a  wide  extent  of  territory  in  which  several  languages 
may  be  spoken. 

1  Mohammed,  or  Mahomet. 

*  A  contemptuous  term  for  Christian,  or  follower  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth. 


3  6  THE   CHRISTIAN  KNIGHT. 

less  horizon  which  promised  the  refreshment  of  shade 
and  living  water,  these  blessings,  held  cheap  where  they 
are  common,  rendered  the  fountain  and  its  neighborhood  295 
a  little  paradise.  Some  generous  or  charitable  hand,  ere 
yet  the  evil  days  of  Palestine  began,  had  walled  in  and 
arched  over  the  fountain,  to  preserve  it  from  being  ab- 
sorbed in  the  earth,  or  choked  by  the  flitting  clouds  of 
dust  with  which  the  least  breath  of  wind  covered  the  des-  3°° 
ert.  The  arch  was  now  broken  and  partly  ruinous ;  but 
it  still  so  far  projected  over,  and  covered  in  the  foun- 
tain, that  it  excluded  the  sun  in  a  great  measure  from 
its  waters,  which,  hardly  touched  by  a  straggling  beam 
while  all  around  was  blazing,  lay  in  a  steady  repose,  305 
alike  delightful  to  the  eye  and  the  imagination.  Steal- 
ing from  under  the  arch,  they  were  first  received  in  a 
marble  basin,  much  defaced  indeed,  but  still  cheering 
the  eye,  by  showing  that  the  place  was  anciently  con- 
sidered as  a  station,  that  the  hand  of  man  had  been  31° 
there,  and  that  man's  accommodation  had  been  in  some 
measure  attended  to.  The  thirsty  and  weary  traveller 
was  reminded  by  these  signs  that  others  had  suffered 
similar  difficulties,  reposed  in  the  same  spot,  and  doubt- 
less found  their  way  in  safety  to  a  more  fertile  country.  315 
Again,  the  scarce  visible  current  which  escaped  from  the 
basin  served  to  nourish  the  few  trees  which  surrounded 
the  fountain,  and  where  it  sunk  into  the  ground  and  dis- 
appeared its  refreshing  presence  was  acknowledged  by  a 
carpet  of  velvet  verdure.  32° 


SHERWOOD   FOREST 
IN  THE  REIGN  OF  RICHARD  THE  FIRST. 

IN  that  pleasant  district  of  merry  England  which  is 
watered  by  the  river  Don,  there  extended  in  ancient 
times  a  large  forest,  covering  the  greater  part  of  the 
beautiful  hills  and  valleys  which  lie  between  Sheffield 
and  the  pleasant  town  of  Doncaster.  The  remains  of  5 
this  extensive  wood  are  still  to  be  seen  at  the  noble 
seats  of  Wentworth,  of  Wharncliffe  Park,  and  around 
Rotherham.  Here  haunted  of  yore  the  fabulous  Dragon 
of  Wantley ;  here  were  fought  many  of  the  most  des- 
perate battles  during  the  Civil  Wars  of  the  Roses  ;  and  i° 
here  also  flourished  in  ancient  times  those  bands  of  gal- 

o 

lant  outlaws,  whose  deeds  have  been  rendered  so  popu- 
lar in  English  song. 

Such  being  our  chief  scene,  the  date  of  our  story  re- 
fers to  a  period  towards  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Richard  "5 
I.,  when  his  return  from  his  long  captivity  had  become 
an  event  rather  wished  than  hoped  for  by  his  despairing 
subjects,  who  were  in  the  meantime  subjected  to  every 
species  of  subordinate  oppression.  The  nobles,  whose 
power  had  become  exorbitant  during  the  reign  of  Ste-20 
phen,  and  whom  the  prudence  of  Henry  the  Second  had 
scarce  reduced  into  some  degree  of  subjection  to  the 
crown,  had  now  resumed  their  ancient  license  in  its 
utmost  extent ;  despising  the  feeble  interference  of  the 


3  8  SHERWOOD  FOREST. 

English  Council  of  State,  fortifying  their  castles,  increas- as 
ing  the  number  of  their  dependants,  reducing  all  around 
them  to  a  state  of  vassalage,  and  striving  by  every  means 
in  their  power  to  place  themselves  each  at  the  head  of 
such  forces  as  might  enable  him  to  make  a  figure  in  the  30 
national  convulsions  which  appeared  to  be  impending. 

The  situation  of  the  inferior  gentry,  or  franklins  as 
they  were  called,  who  by  the  law  and  spirit  of  the  Eng- 
lish constitution  were  entitled  to  hold  themselves  inde- 
pendent of  feudal  tyranny,  became  now  unusually  preca-  35 
rious.  If,  as  was  most  generally  the  case,  they  placed 
themselves  under  the  protection  of  any  of  the  petty 
kings1  in  their  vicinity,  accepted  of  feudal  offices  in  his 
household,  or  bound  themselves  by  mutual  treaties  of 
alliance  and  protection  to  support  him  in  his  enter- 40 
prises,  they  might  indeed  purchase  temporary  repose ; 
but  it  must  be  with  the  sacrifice  of  that  independence 
which  was  so  dear  to  every  English  bosom,  and  at  the 
certain  hazard  of  being  involved  as  a  party  in  whatever 
rash  expedition  the  ambition  of  their  protector  might  45 
lead  him  to  undertake.  On  the  other  hand,  such  and 
so  multiplied  were  the  means  of  vexation  and  oppres- 
sion possessed  by  the  great  barons,  that  they  never 
wanted  the  pretext,  and  seldom  the  will,  to  harass  and 
pursue,  even  to  the  very  edge  of  destruction,  any  of  their  y> 
less  powerful  neighbors  who  attempted  to  separate  them- 
selves from  their  authority,  and  to  trust  for  their  protec- 
tion, during  the  dangers  of  the  times,  to  their  own  inof- 
fensive conduct  and  to  the  laws  of  the  land. 

The  power  had  been  completely  placed  in  the  hands  55 
of  the  Norman  nobility  by  the  event  of  the  battle  of 
Hastings,  and  it  had  been  used,  as  our  histories  assure 
1  The  nobles,  or  feudal  chieftains,  mentioned  above. 


SHERWOOD  FOREST. 


39 


us,  with  no  moderate  hand.     The  whole  race  of  Saxon 
princes  and  nobles  had  been  extirpated  or  disinherited, 
with  few  or  no  exceptions ;  nor  were  the  numbers  great 
who  possessed  land  in  the  country  of  their  fathers,  even  60 
as  proprietors  of  the  second,  or  of  yet  inferior  classes. 
The  royal  policy  had  long  been  to  weaken  by  every 
means,  legal  or  illegal,  the  strength  of  a  part  of  the  pop- 
ulation which  was  justly  considered  as  nourishing  the 
most  inveterate  antipathy  to  their  victor.     All  the  mon-6s 
archs  of  the  Norman  race  had  shown  the  most  marked 
predilection  for  their  Norman  subjects;  the  laws  of  the 
chase,  and  many  others  equally  unknown  to  the  milder 
and  more  free  spirit  of  the  Saxon  constitution,  had  been 
fixed  upon  the  necks  of  the  subjugated  inhabitants,  to  70 
add  weight,  as  it  were,  to  the  feudal  chains  with  which 
they  were  loaded.     At  court,  and  in  the  castles  of  the  \ 
great  nobles,  where  the  pomp  and  state  of  a  court  was 
emulated,  Norman-French  was  the  only  language  em- 
ployed ;  in  courts  of  law,  the  pleadings  and  judgments  75 
were  delivered  in  the  same  tongue.     In  short,  French 
was  the  language  of  honor,  of  chivalry,  and  even  of  jus- 
tice, while  the  far  more  manly  and  expressive  Anglo- 
Saxon  was  abandoned  to  the  use  of  rustics  and  hinds, 
who  knew  no  other.     Still,  however,  the  necessary  inter-  80 
course  between  the  lords  of  the  soil  and  those  oppressed 
inferior  beings  by  whom  that  soil  was  cultivated  occa- 
sioned the  gradual  formation  of  a  dialect,  compounded 
betwixt  the  French  and  the  Anglo-Saxon,  in  which  they 
could  render  themselves  mutually  intelligible  to  each  8s 
other ;    and  from   this  necessity  arose  by  degrees  the 
structure  of  our  present  English  language,  in  which  the 
speech  of  the  victors  and  the  vanquished  have  been  so 
happily  blended  together,  and  which  has  since  been  so 


40  SHERWOOD  FOREST. 

richly  improved  by  importations  from  the  classical  Ian- 90 
guages  and  from  those  spoken  by  the  Southern  nations 
of  Europe. 

The  sun  was  setting  upon  one  of  the  rich  glassy  glades 
of  that  forest  which  we  have  already  mentioned.     Hun- 
dreds of  broad-headed,  short-stemmed,  wide-branched  95 
oaks,  which  had  witnessed  perhaps  the  stately  march  of 
the  Roman  soldiery,1  flung  their  gnarled  arms  over  a 
thick  carpet  of  the  most  delicious  green  sward  ;  in  some 
places  they  were  intermingled  with  beeches,  hollies,  and 
copsewood  of  various  descriptions,  so  closely  as  totally  100 
to  intercept  the  level  beams  of  the  sinking  sun  ;  in  others 
they  receded  from  each  other,  forming  those  long  sweep- 
ing vistas,  in  the  intricacy  of  which  the  eye  delights  to 
lose  itself,  while  imagination  considers  them  as  the  paths 
to  yet  wilder  scenes  of  sylvan  solitude.     Here  the  red  105 
rays  of  the  sun  shot  a  broken  and  discolored  light,  that 
partially  hung  upon  the  shattered  boughs  and  mossy 
trunks  of  the  trees,  and  there  they  illuminated  in  brilliant 
patches  the  portions  of  turf  to  which  they  made  their 
way.     A  considerable  open  space  in  the  midst  of  this  no 
glade  seemed  formerly  to  have  been  dedicated  to  the 
rites  of  Druidical "  superstition  ;  for  on  the  summit  of  a 
hillock,  so  regular  as  to  seem  artificial,  there  still  re- 
mained part  of  a  circle  of  rough,  unhewn  stones,  of  large 
dimensions.     Seven  stood   upright ;  the  rest  had  been  us 
dislodged  from  their  places,  probably  by  the  zeal  of  some 
convert  to  Christianity,  and  lay,  some  prostrate  near 

1  Referring  to  the  time  of  the  Roman  occupation  of  Britain,  in 
the  early  centuries  of  the  Christian  era. 

9  Pertaining  to  the  Druids,  the  priests  of  the  aboriginal  Britons. 
See  Notes. 


SHERWOOD  FOREST.  41 

their  former  site,  and  others  on  the  side  of  the  hill.  One 
large  stone  only  had  found  its  way  to  the  bottom,  and 
in  stopping  the  course  of  a  small  brook,  which  glided  12° 
smoothly  round  the  foot  of  the  eminence,  gave  by  its 
opposition  a  feeble  voice  of  murmur  to  the  placid  and 
elsewhere  silent  streamlet. 

The  human  figures  which  completed  this  landscape 
were  in  number  two,  partaking  in  their  dress  and  ap-i2$ 
pearance  of  that  wild  and  rustic  character  which  be- 
longed to  the  woodlands  of  the  West-Riding '  of  York- 
shire at  that  early  period.     The  eldest  of  these  men  had 
a  stern,  savage,  and  wild  aspect.     His  garment  was  of 
the  simplest  form  imaginable,  being  a  close  jacket  with  13° 
sleeves,  composed  of  the  tanned  skin  of  some  animal,  on 
which  the  hair  had  been  originally  left,  but  which  had 
been  worn  off  in  so  many  places  that  it  would  have  been 
difficult  to  distinguish  from  the  patches  that  remained 
to  what  creature  the  fur  had  belonged.     This  primeval  133 
vestment   reached  from  the  throat  to    the   knees,  and 
served  at  once  all  the  usual  purposes  of  body-clothing; 
there  was  no  wider  opening  at  the  collar  than  was  nec- 
essary to  admit  the  passage  of  the  head,  from  which  it 
may  be  inferred  that  it  was  put  on  by  slipping  it  over  140 
the  head  and  shoulders  in  the  manner  of  a  modern  shirt 
or  ancient  hauberk.2     Sandals,  bound  with  thongs  made  ' 
of  boar's  hide,  protected  the  feet,  and   a  roll  of  thin 
leather  was  twined  artificially  around  the  legs,  and,  as- 
cending above  the  calf,  left  the  knees  bare,  like  those  MS 
of  a  Scottish  Highlander.     To  make  the  jacket  sit  yet 

1  The  county  of  Yorkshire  is  divided  into  three  districts  known 
as  the  North,  East,  and  West  Ridings  —  originally  thrithings,  or 
tritkings=.thirds. 

'2  Coat  of  mail.     See  p.  28  above. 


42  SHERWOOD  FOREST. 

more  close  to  the  body,  it  was  gathered  at  the  middle  by 
a  broad  leathern  belt,  secured  by  a  brass  buckle;  to  one 
side  of  which  was  attached  a  sort  of  scrip,1  and  to  the 
other  a  ram's  horn,  accoutred  with  a  mouthpiece,  for  the  *s° 
purpose  of  blowing.  In  the  same  belt  was  stuck  one 
of  those  long,  broad,  sharp -pointed,  and  two-edged 
knives,  with  a  buck's-horn  handle,  which  were  fabricated 
in  the  neighborhood,  and  bore  even  at  this  early  period 
the  name  of  a  Sheffield  whittle."  The  man  had  no  cover- 155 
ing  upon  his  head,  which  was  only  defended  by  his  own 
thick  hair,  matted  and  twisted  together,  and  scorched 
by  the  influence  of  the  sun  into  a  rusty  dark -red  col- 
or, forming  a  contrast  with  the  overgrown  beard  upon 
his  cheeks,  which  was  rather  of  a  yellow  or  amber  hue.  160 
One  part  of  his  dress  only  remains,  but  it  is  too  remark- 
able to  be  suppressed  ;  it  was  a  brass  ring  resembling  a 
dog's  collar,  but  without  any  opening,  and  soldered  fast 
round  his  neck,  so  loose  as  to  form  no  impediment  to  his 
breathing,  yet  so  tight  as  to  be  incapable  of  being  re- 165 
moved,  excepting  by  the  use  of  the  file.  On  this  singular 
gorget 3  was  engraved,  in  Saxon  characters,  an  inscrip- 
tion of  the  following  purport :  "  Gurth,  the  son  of  Beo- 
wulph,  is  the  born  thrall 4  of  Cedric  of  Rotherwood." 

Beside  the  swineherd,  for  such  was  Gurth's  occupa-  '7° 
tion,  was  seated,  upon  one  of  the  fallen  Druidical  monu- 
ments, a  person  about  ten  years  younger  in  appearance, 
and  whose  dress,  though  resembling  his  companion's 
in  form,  was  of  better  materials  and  of  a  more  fantastic 

1  Pouch,  or  bag ;  as  in  Matthew,  x.  10,  etc. 
5  An  old  word  for  knife. 

3  Properly  a  piece  of  armor  for  the  throat  or  neck ;  here  applied 
to  the  collar  just  described. 

4  Serf,  or  bondman  ;  now  used  only  as  an  abstract  noun. 


.  : 


44 


SHERWOOD  FOREST. 


appearance.     His  jacket  had  been  stained  of  a  bright  175 
purple  hue,  upon  which  there  had  been  some  attempt  to 
paint  grotesque  ornaments  in  different  colors.     To  the 
jacket  he  added  a  short  cloak,  which  scarcely  reached 
half-way  down  his  thigh  ;  it  was  of  crimson  cloth,  though 
a  good  deal  soiled,  lined  with  bright  yellow ;  and  as  he  180 
could  transfer  it  from  one  shoulder  to  the  other,  or  at 
his  pleasure  draw  it  all  around  him,  its  width, contrasted 
with  its  want  of  longitude,  formed  a  fantastic  piece  of 
drapery.     He  had  thin  silver  bracelets  upon  his  arms, 
and  on  his  neck  a  collar  of  the  same  mefal,  bearing  the  185 
inscription,  "  Waniba,  the  son  of  Witless,  is  the  thrall  of 
Cedric  of  Rotherwood."     This  personage  had  the  same 
sort  of  sandals  with  his  companion,  but  instead  of  the 
roll  of  leather  thong  his  legs  were  cased  in  a  sort  of  gait- 
ers, of  which  one  was  red  and  the  other  yellow.     He  190 
was  provided  also  with  a  cap,  having  around  it  more 
than  one  bell,  about  the  size  of  those  attached  to  hawks,1 
which  jingled  as  he  turned  his  head  to  one  side  or 
other ;  and  as  he  seldom  remained  a  minute  in  the  same 
posture,  the  sound   might  be  considered  as  incessant.  195 
Around  the  edge  of  this  cap  was  a  stiff  bandeau2  of 
leather,  cut  at  the  top  into  open  work,  resembling  a  cor- 
onet, while  a  prolonged  bag  arose  from  within  it,  and  fell 
down  on  one  shoulder  like  an  old-fashioned  nightcap,  or 
a  jelly-bag,  or  the  head-gear  of  a  modern  hussar.3     It  200 
was  to  this  part  of  the  cap  that  the  bells  were  attached ; 
which  circumstance,  as  well  as  the  shape  of  his  head- 

1  Small  bells  were  fastened  to  the  tame  hawks  used  in  falconry, 
to  frighten  the  birds  that  were  their  prey. 

*  French  for  band. 

3  Light-armed  horseman  ;  originally  applied  to  Hungarian  cav- 
alry. For  a  common  form  of  the  fool's  cap,  see  cut  on  page  153. 


SHERWOOD  FOREST.  45 

dress,  and  his  own  half-crazed,  half-cunning  expression 
of  countenance,  sufficiently  pointed  him  out  as  belong- 
ing to  the  race  of  domestic  clowns  or  jesters  maintained  205 
in  the  houses  of  the  wealthy,  to  help  away  the  tedium  of 
those  lingering  hours  which  they  were  obliged  to  spend 
within  doors.  He  bore,  like  his  companion,  a  scrip  at- 
tached to  his  belt,  but  had  neither  horn  nor  knife,  being 
probably  considered  as  belonging  to  a  class  whom  it  is  210 
esteemed  dangerous  to  intrust  with  edge-tools.  In  place 
of  these,  he  was  equipped  with  a  sword  of  lath,  resem- 
bling that  with  which  Harlequin '  operates  his  wonders 
upon  the  modern  stage. 

The  outward  appearance  of  these  two  men  formed  215 
scarce  a  stronger  contrast  than  their  look  and  demeanor. 
That  of  the  serf  or  bondsman  was  sad  and  sullen  ;  his 
aspect  was  bent  on  the  ground  with  an  appearance  of 
deep  dejection,  which  might  be  almost  construed  into 
apathy,  had  not  the  fire  which  occasionally  sparkled  in  220 
his  red  eye  manifested  that  there  slumbered,  under  the 
appearance  of  sullen  despondency,  a  sense  of  oppres- 
sion and  a  disposition  to  resistance.  The  looks  of  Wam- 
ba,  on  the  other  hand,  indicated,  as  usual  with  his  class, 
a  sort  of  vacant  curiosity  and  fidgety  impatience  of  225 
any  posture  of  repose,  together  with  the  utmost  self-sat- 
isfaction respecting  his  own  situation  and  the  appear- 
ance which  he  made.  The  dialogue  which  they  main- 
tained between  them  was  carried  on  in  Anglo-Saxon, 
which,  as  we  said  before,  was  universally  spoken  by  the  23° 
inferior  classes,  excepting  the  Norman  soldiers  and  the 
immediate  personal  dependants  of  the  great  feudal  no- 
bles. But  to  give  their  conversation  in  the  original 
would  convey  but  little  information  to  the  modern 
1  A  clown,  or  buffoon.  See  Notes. 


46  SHERWOOD  FOREST. 

reader,  for  whose  benefit  we  beg  to  offer  the  following  =35 
translation  : 

"The  curse  of  St.  Withold  !  upon  these  porkers  !"  said 
the  swineherd,  after  blowing  his  horn  obstreperously  to 
collect  together  the  scattered  herd  of  swine,  which,  an- 
swering his  call  with  notes  equally  melodious,  made,  24° 
however,  no  haste  to  remove  themselves  from  the  luxuri- 
ous banquet  of  beech-mast*  and  acorns  on  which  they  had 
fattened,  or  to  forsake  the  marshy  banks  of  the  rivulet, 
where  several  of  them,  half  plunged  in  mud,  lay  stretched 
at  their  ease,  altogether  regardless  of  the  voice  of  their  245 
keeper.  "  The  curse  of  St.  Withold  upon  them  and 
upon  me !"  said  Gurth ;  "  if  the  two-legged  wolf  snap 
not  up  some  of  them  ere  nightfall,  I  am  no  true  man. 
Here,  Fangs  !  Fangs  !"  he  ejaculated  at  the  top  of  his 
voice  to  a  ragged,  wolfish-looking  dog,  a  sort  of  lurcher,3  250 
half  mastiff,  half  greyhound,  which  ran  limping  about  as 
if  with  the  purpose  of  seconding  his  master  in  collecting 
the  refractory  grunters  ;  but  which,  in  fact,  from  misap- 
prehension of  the  swineherd's  signals,  ignorance  of  his 
own  duty,  or  malice  prepense,4  only  drove  them  hither  255 
and  thither,  and  increased  the  evil  which  he  seemed  to 
design  to  remedy.  "  A  devil  draw  the  teeth  of  him," 
said  Gurth,  "  and  the  mother  of  mischief  confound  the 
Ranger  of  the  forest,  that  cuts  the  foreclaws  off  our  dogs 
and  makes  them  unfit  for  their  trade  !5  Wamba,  up  and  260 

1  A  corruption  of  St.  Vitalis. 

3  Beech-nuts. 

8  A  dog  that  lurches  (lurks),  or  lies  in  wait  for  game. 

4  Premeditated,  deliberate  ;  rarely  used  except  in  the  phrase  mal- 
ice prepense. 

5  A  most  sensible  grievance  of  those  aggrieved  times  were  the 
Forest  Laws.     These  oppressive  enactments  were  the  produce  of 
the  Norman  Conquest,  for  the  Saxon  laws  of  the  chase  were  mild 


SHERWOOD  FOREST,  47 

help  me  an '  thou  beest  a  man  ;  take  a  turn  round  the 
back  o'  the  hill  to  gain  the  wind  on  them ;  and  when 
thou'st  got  the  weather-gage,  thou  mayst  drive  them  be- 
fore thee  as  gently  as  so  many  innocent  lambs." 

"  Truly,"  said  Wamba,  without  stirring  from  the  spot,  265 
"I  have  consulted  my  legs  upon  this  matter,  and  they 
are  altogether  of  opinion  that  to  carry  my  gay  garments 
through  these  sloughs  would  be  an  act  of  unfriendship 
to  my  sovereign  person  and  royal  wardrobe ;  wherefore, 
Gurth,  I  advise  thee  to  call  off  Fangs,  and  leave  the  27° 
herd  to  their  destiny,  which,  whether  they  meet  with 
bands  of  travelling  soldiers,  or  of  outlaws,  or  of  wander- 
ing pilgrims,  can  be  little  else  than  to  be  converted  into 
Normans  before  morning,  to  thy  no  small  ease  and  com- 
fort." 275 

"The  swine  turned  Normans  to  my  comfort !"  quoth 
Gurth  ;  "  expound  that  to  me,  Wamba,  for  my  brain  is 
too  dull  and  my  mind  too  vexed  to  read  riddles." 

"  Why,  how  call  you  those  grunting  brutes  running 
about  on  their  four  legs  ?"  demanded  Wamba.  280 

and  humane ;  while  those  of  William,  enthusiastically  attached  to 
the  exercise  and  its  rights,  were  to  the  last  degree  tyrannical.  The 
formation  of  the  New  Forest  bears  evidence  to  his  passion  for 
hunting,  where  he  reduced  many  a  happy  village  to  the  condition  of 
that  one  commemorated  by  Mr.  William  Stewart  Rose : 

"  Amongst  the  ruins  of  the  church 
The  midnight  raven  found  a  perch, 

A  melancholy  place ; 
The  ruthless  Conqueror  cast  down, 
Wo  worth  the  deed,  that  little  town, 

To  lengthen  out  his  chase." 

The  disabling  dogs,  which  might  be  necessary  for  keeping  flocks 
and  herds  from  running  at  the  deer,  was  called  lowing,  and  was  in 
general  use  (Scott). 

1  If.  • 


48  SHERWOOD  FOREST. 

"  Swine,  fool,  swine,"  said  the  herd ;  "  every  foci 
knows  that." 

"  And  swine  is  good  Saxon,"  said  the  Jester  ;  "  but 
how  call  you  the  sow  when  she  is  flayed,  and  drawn,  and 
quartered,  and  hung  up  by  the  heels,  like  a  traitor?"  285 

"  Pork,"  answered  the  swineherd. 

"  I  am  very  glad  every  fool  knows  that  too,"  said 
Wamba,  "  and  pork,  I  think,  is  good  Norman-French ; 
and  so  when  the  brute  lives,  and  is  in  the  charge  of  a 
Saxon  slave,  she  goes  by  her  Saxon  name  ;  but  becomes  29° 
a  Norman,  and  is  called  pork,  when  she  is  carried  to  the 
Castle-hall  to  feast  among  the  nobles ;  what  dost  thou 
think  of  this,  friend  Gurth,  ha  ?" 

"  It  is  but  too  true  doctrine,  friend  Wamba,  however 
it  got  into  thy  fool's  pate."  295 

"  Nay,  I  can  tell  you  more,"  said  Wamba,  in  the  same 
tone  ;  "  there  is  old  Alderman  Ox  continues  to  hold  his 
Saxon  epithet  while  he  is  under  the  charge  of  serfs  and 
bondsmen  such  as  thou,  but  becomes  Beef,  a  fiery  French 
gallant,  when  he  arrives  before  the  worshipful  jaws  that  30° 
are  destined  to  consume  him.  Mynheer  Calf,  too,  be- 
comes Monsieur  de  Veau '  in  the  like  manner ;  he  is 
Saxon  when  he  requires  tendance,  and  takes  a  Norman 
name  when  he  becomes  matter  of  enjoyment." 

"A  murrain4   take   thee,"   rejoined   the  swineherd  ; s°s 
"wilt  thou  talk  of  such  things  while  a  terrible  storm  of 
thunder  and  lightning  is  raging  within  a  few  miles  of 
us?     Hark,  how  the  thunder  rumbles  !  and  for  summer 
rain,  I  never  saw  such  broad,  downright,  flat  drops  fall 
out  of  the  clouds ;   the  oaks,  too,  notwithstanding  the  310 
calm  weather,  sob  and  creak  with  their  great  boughs  as 

1  French  for  veal,  which  is  really  the  same  word. 
1  Plague.     See  Bxodus,  ix.  3,  etc. 


SHERWOOD  FOREST. 


49 


if  announcing  a  tempest.  Thou  canst  play  the  rational 
if  thou  wilt ;  credit  me  for  once,  and  let  us  home  ere 
the  storm  begins  to  rage,  for  the  night  will  be  fearful." 

Wamba  seemed  to  feel  the  force  of  this  appeal,  and  315 
accompanied  his  companion,  who  began  his  journey  af- 
ter catching  up  a  long  quarter-staff1  which  lay  upon  the 
grass  beside  him.    This  second  Eumaeus2  strode  hastily 
down  the  forest  glade,  driving  before  him,  with  the  as- 
sistance of  Fangs,  the  whole  herd  of  his  inharmonious  32° 
charge. 

1  An  old  English  weapon,  a  stout  pole  about  six  feet  and  a  half 
long,  generally  loaded  with  iron  at  both  ends. 

9  The  faithful  swineherd  of  Ulysses  in  Homer's  Odyssey. 


CRUSADERS. 


CEDRIC  THE   SAXON,  AND   ROWENA. 

THEY  stood  before  the  mansion  of  Cedric — a  low 
irregular  building,  containing  several  court-yards  or  en- 
closures, extending  over  a  considerable  space  of  ground, 
and  which,  though  its  size  argued  the  inhabitant  to  be  a 
person  of  wealth,  differed  entirely  from  the  tall,  turreted,  5 
and  castellated  buildings  in  which  the  Norman  nobility 
resided,  and  which  had  become  the  universal  style  of 
architecture  throughout  England. 

Rotherwood  was  not,  however,  without  defences ;  no 
habitation  in  that  disturbed  period  could  have  been  so,  10 
without  the  risk  of  being  plundered  and  burnt  before 
the  next  morning.     A  deep  fosse,  or  ditch,  was  drawn 
round  the  whole  building,  and  filled  with  water  from  a 
neighboring  stream.     A  double  stockade,  or  palisade, 
composed  of  pointed  beams,  which  the  adjacent  forest  15 
supplied,  defended  the   outer  and  inner  bank  of  the 
trench.     There  was  an  entrance  from  the  west  through 
the  outer  stockade,  which  communicated  by  a  draw- 
bridge with  a  similar  opening  in  the  interior  defences. 
Some  precautions  had  been  taken  to  place  those  en- 20 
trances  under  the  protection  of  projecting  angles,  by 
which  they  might  be  flanked  '  in  case  of  need  by  archers 
or  slingers. 

In  a  hall,  the  height  of  which  was  greatly  dispropor- 
1  Defended  from  the  side ;  a  military  term. 


CEDRIC   THE  SAXON,  AND  ROWENA.  51 

tioned  to  its  extreme  length  and  width,  a  long  oaken  25 
table,  formed  of  planks  rough-hewn  from  the  forest,  and 
which  had  scarcely  received  any  polish,  stood  ready 
prepared  for  the  evening  meal  of  Cedric  the  Saxon.   The 
roof,  composed  of  beams  and   rafters,  had  nothing  to 
divide  the  apartment  from  the  sky  excepting  the  plank-  3° 
ing  and  thatch ; 1  there  was  a  huge  fireplace  at  either 
end  of  the  hall,  but  as  the  chimneys  were  constructed 
in  a  very  clumsy  manner,   at   least  as  much   of  the 
smoke  found  its  way  into  the  apartment  as  escaped  by 
the  proper  vent.     The  constant  vapor  which  this  occa-  35 
sioned  had  polished  the  rafters  and  beams  of  the  low- 
browed2 hall,  by  encrusting  them  with  a  black  varnish 
of  soot.     On  the  sides  of  the  apartment  hung  imple- 
ments of  war  and  of  the  chase,  and  there  were  at  each 
corner  folding-doors,  which  gave  access  to  other  parts  40 
of  the  extensive  building. 

The  other  appointments  of  the  mansion  partook  of 
the  rude  simplicity  of  the  Saxon  period,  which  Cedric 
piqued  himself  upon  maintaining.  The  floor  was  com- 
posed of  earth  mixed  with  lime,  trodden  into  a  hard  45 
substance,  such  as  is  often  employed  in  flooring  our 
modern  barns.  For  about  one  quarter  of  the  length  of 
the  apartment  the  floor  was  raised  by  a  step,  and  this 
space,  which  was  called  the  dais,  was  occupied  only  by 
the  principal  members  of  the  family  and  visitors  of  dis-s° 
tinction.  For  this  purpose,  a  table  richly  covered  with 
scarlet  cloth  was  placed  transversely  across  the  plat- 
form, from  the  middle  of  which  ran  the  longer  and  lower 
board,  at  which  the  domestics  and  inferior  persons  fed, 

1  The  roof  was  thatched  with  straw,  instead  of  being  covered  with 
tiles. 
1  Low-studded,  as  we  should  say. 


5a  CEDRIC   THE  SAXON,  AND  ROWENA. 

down  towards  the  bottom  of  the  hall.  The  whole  resem-ss 
bled  the  form  of  the  letter  T,  or  some  of  those  ancient 
dinner-tables,  which,  arranged  on  the  same  principles, 
may  be  still  seen  in  the  antique  Colleges  of  Oxford  or 
Cambridge.  Massive  chairs  and  settles  '  of  carved  oak 
were  placed  upon  the  dais,  and  over  these  seats  and  the  60 
more  elevated  table  was  fastened  a  canopy  of  cloth, 
which  served  in  some  degree  to  protect  the  dignitaries 
who  occupied  that  distinguished  station  from  the  weath- 
er, and  especially  from  the  rain,  which  in  some  places 
found  its  way  through  the  ill-constructed  roof.  65 

The  walls  of  this  upper  end  of  the  hall,  as  far  as  the 
dais  extended,  were  covered  with  hangings  or  curtains, 
and  upon  the  floor  there  was  a  carpet,  both  of  which 
were  adorned  with  some  attempts  at  tapestry,  or  em- 
broidery, executed  with  brilliant  or  rather  gaudy  color-  7° 
ing.  Over  the  lower  range  of  table,  the  roof,  as  we  have 
noticed,  had  no  covering ;  the  rough  plastered  walls 
were  left  bare,  and  the  rude  earthen  floor  was  uncar- 
peted ;  the  board  was  uncovered  by  a  cloth,  and  rude 
massive  benches  supplied  the  place  of  chairs.  75 

In  the  centre  of  the  upper  table  were  placed  two 
chairs  more  elevated  than  the  rest,  for  the  master  and 
mistress  of  the  family,  who  presided  over  the  scene  of 
hospitality,  and  from  doing  so  derived  their  Saxon  title 
of  honor,2  which  signifies  "the  Dividers  of  Bread."  8o 

To  each  of  these  chairs  was  added  a  footstool,  curi- 
ously carved  and  inlaid  with  ivory,  which  mark  of  dis- 
tinction was  peculiar  to  them.  One  of  these  seats  was 
at  present  occupied  by  Cedric  the  Saxon,  who,  though 

1  Settees,  or  benches  with  backs. 

a  Both  lord  and  lady  are  derived  from  loaf. 


CEDRIC   THE  SAXON,  AND  ROWENA.  53 

but  in  rank  a  thane,1  or,  as  the  Normans  called  him,  a  85 
franklin,  felt,  at  the  delay  of  his  evening  meal,  an  irrita- 
ble impatience  which  might  have  become  an  alderman,11 
whether  of  ancient  or  of  modern  times. 

It  appeared,  indeed,  from  the  countenance  of  this  pro- 
prietor, that  he  was  of  a  frank  but  hasty  and  choleric  9° 
temper.     He  was   not   above   the   middle   stature,  but 
broad-shouldered,  long-armed,  and  powerfully  made,  like 
one  accustomed  to  endure  the  fatigue  of  war  or  of  the 
chase  ;  his  face  was  broad,  with  large  blue  eyes,  open 
and  frank  features,  fine  teeth,  and  a  well-formed  head,  95 
altogether  expressive  of  that  sort  of  good-humor  which 
often  lodges  with  a  sudden  and  hasty  temper.     Pride 
and  jealousy  there  was  in  his  eye,  for  his  life  had  been 
spent  in  asserting  rights  which  were  constantly  liable  to 
invasion  ;  and  the  prompt,  fiery,  and  resolute  disposition  100 
of  the  man  had  been  kept  constantly  upon  the  alert  by 
the  circumstances  of  his  situation.    His  long  yellow  hair 
was  equally  divided  on  the  top  of  his  head  and  upon  his 
brow,  and  combed  down  on  each  side  to  the  length  of 
his  shoulders  :  it  had  but  little  tendency  to  gray,  although  105 
Cedric  was  approaching  to  his  sixtieth  year. 

His  dress  was  a  tunic  of  forest  green,  furred  at  the 
throat  and  cuffs  with  what  was  called  minever — a  kind 
of  fur  inferior  in  quality  to  ermine,3  and  formed,  it  is  be- 
lieved, of  the  skin  of  the  gray  squirrel.  This  doublet  *«° 

1  An  Anglo-Saxon  title  of  honor.  After  the  Norman  Conquest 
thanes  and  barons  were  classed  together. 

3  Alluding  to  the  association  of  the  name  with  a  fondness  for 
good  living. 

3  A  costly  white  fur,  formerly  worn  by  kings  and  still  by  judges 
in  England. 

*  The  garment  was  so  called  because  made  double,  that  is,  lined 
or  padded — originally  for  defence. 


ij4  CEDRIC   THE  SAXON,  AND  ROWENA. 

hung  unbuttoned  over  a  close  dress  of  scarlet,  which 
sate  tight  to  his  body;  he  had  breeches  of  the  same, 
but  they  did  not  reach  below  the  lower  part  of  the  thigh, 
leaving  the  knee  exposed.  His  feet  had  sandals  of  the 
same  fashion  with  the  peasants,  but  of  finer  materials,  us 
and  secured  in  the  front  with  golden  clasps.  He  had 
bracelets  of  gold  upon  his  arms,  and  a  broad  collar  of 
the  same  precious  metal  around  his  neck.  About  his 
waist  he  wore  a  richly-studded  belt,  in  which  was  stuck 
a  short,  straight,  two-edged  sword  with  a  sharp  point,  so  120 
disposed  as  to  hang  almost  perpendicularly  by  his  side. 
Behind  his  seat  was  hung  a  scarlet  cloth  cloak  lined 
with  fur,  and  a  cap  of  the  same  materials  richly  embroid- 
ered, which  completed  the  dress  of  the  opulent  land- 
holder when  he  chose  to  go  forth.  A  short  boar-spear,  125 
with  a  broad  and  bright  steel  head,  also  reclined  against 
the  back  of  his  chair,  which  served  him,  when  he  walked 
abroad,  for  the  purposes  of  a  staff  or  of  a  weapon,  as 
chance  might  require. 

Several  domestics,  whose  dress  held  various  propor-  t3o 
tions  betwixt  the  richness   of  their  master's   and  the 
coarse    and    simple    attire   of    Gurth    the    swineherd, 
watched  the  looks  and  waited  the  commands  of  the 
Saxon  dignitary.     Two  or  three  servants  of  a  superior 
order  stood  behind  their  master  upon  the  dais ;  the  rest  135 
occupied  the  lower  part  of  the  hall.     Other  attendants 
there  were  of  a  different  description  :  two  or  three  large 
and  shaggy  greyhounds,  such  as  were  then  employed  in 
hunting  the  stag  and  wolf;  as  many  slow-hounds1  of  a 
large  bony  breed,  with  thick  necks,  large  heads,  and  140 
long  ears ;  and  one  or  two  of  the  smaller  dogs,  now 

1  Bloodhounds,  or  sleuth-hounds  ;  so  called  from  sleuth,  the  track 
of  a  deer. 


CEDRIC    THE  SAXON,  AND  ROWENA.  55 

called  terriers,  which  waited  with  impatience  the  arrival 
of  the  supper,  but,  with  the  sagacious  knowledge  of  phys- 
iognomy peculiar  to  their  race,  forbore  to  intrude  upon 
the  moody  silence  of  their  master,  apprehensive  proba-  MS 
bly  of  a  small  white  truncheon  l  which  lay  by  Cedric's 
trencher  2  for  the  purpose  of  repelling  the  advances  of 
his  four-legged  dependants.  One  grizzly  old  wolf-dog 
alone,  with  the  liberty  of  an  indulged  favorite,  had 
planted  himself  close  by  the  chair  of  state,  and  occa- 150 
sionally  ventured  to  solicit  notice  by  putting  his  large 
hairy  head  upon  his  master's  knee,  or  pushing  his  nose 
into  his  hand.  Even  he  was  repelled  by  the  stern  com- 
mand, "  Down,  Balder,  down !  I  am  not  in  the  humor 
for  foolery."  155 

In  fact,  Cedric,  as  we  have  observed,  was  in  no  very 
placid  state  of  mind.  The  Lady  Rowena,  who  had  been 
absent  to  attend  an  evening  mass  at  a  distant  church, 
had  but  just  returned,  and  was  changing  her  garments 
which  had  been  wetted  by  the  storm.  There  were  as  160 
yet  no  tidings  of  Gurth  and  his  charge,  which  should 
long  since  have  been  driven  home  from  the  forest ;  and 
such  was  the  insecurity  of  the  period  as  to  render  it 
probable  that  the  delay  might  be  explained  by  some 
depredation  of  the  outlaws,  with  whom  the  adjacent  for- 165 
est  abounded,  or  by  the  violence  of  some  neighboring 
baron,  whose  consciousness  of  strength  made  him  equal- 
ly negligent  of  the  laws  of  property.  The  matter  was 
of  consequence,  for  great  part  of  the  domestic  wealth  of 
the  Saxon  proprietors  consisted  in  numerous  herds  of  *7° 
swine,  especially  in  forest -land,  where  those  animals 
easily  found  their  food. 

From  his  musing  Cedric  was  suddenly  awakened  by 
1  Cudgel,  club.  *  Wooden  plate. 


56  CEDRIC   THE  SAXON,  AND  ROWENA. 

the  blast  of  a  horn,  which  was  replied  to  by  the  clamor-  '/s 
ous  yells  and  barking  of  all  the  dogs  in  the  hall,  and 
some  twenty  or  thirty  which  were  quartered  in  other 
parts  of  the  building.  It  cost  some  exercise  of  the  white 
truncheon,  well  seconded  by  the  exertions  of  the  domes- 
tics, to  silence  this  canine  clamor.  i8° 

"To  the  gate,  knaves!"  said  the  Saxon,  hastily,  as 
soon  as  the  tumult  was  so  much  appeased  that  the  de- 
pendants could  hear  his  voice.  "  See  what  tidings  that 
horn  tells  us  of — to  announce,  I  ween,1  some  hership2 
and  robbery  which  has  been  done  upon  my  lands."  ^s 

Returning  in  less  than  three  minutes,  a  warder  an- 
nounced, "  that  the  prior  Aymer  of  Jorvaulx,  and  the 
good  knight  Brian  de  Bois-Guilbert,  commander  of  the 
valiant  and  venerable  order  of  Knights  Templars,  with 
a  small  retinue,  requested  hospitality  and  lodging  for  the  19° 
night,  being  on  their  way  to  a  tournament 3  which  was 
to  be  held  not  far  from  Ashby-de-la-Zouche 4  on  the  sec- 
ond day  from  the  present." 

"Aymer,  the  prior  Aymer?    Brian  de  Bois-Guilbert?" 
— muttered  Cedric ;  "  Normans  both  ; — but  Norman  or  195 
Saxon,  the  hospitality  of  Rotherwood  must  not  be  im- 
peached ;  they  are  welcome,  since  they  have  chosen  to 
halt — more  welcome  would  they  have  been  to  have  rid- 
den farther  on  their  way.     But  it  were  unworthy  to  mur- 
mur for  a  night's  lodgings  and  a  night's  food;  in  the*» 
quality  of  guests,  at  least,  even  Normans  must  suppress 
their  insolence.     Go,  Hundebert,"  he  added,  to  a  sort 

1  Think  ;  rarely  used  now  except  in  poetry. 
a  The  crime  of  carrying  off  cattle  by  force. 

3  A  martial  sport,  or  exercise  of  knights  on  horseback  to  show 
their  skill  in  arms.     It  is  described  at  length  farther  on. 

4  A  town  in  Leicestershire. 


CEDRIC   THE  SAXON,  AND  ROWENA.  57 

of  major-domo '  who  stood  behind  him  with  a  white 
wand ;  "  take  six  of  the  attendants,  and  introduce  the 
strangers  to  the  guests'  lodging.    Look  after  their  horses  203 
and  mules,  and  see  their  train  lack  nothing.     Let  them 
have  change  of  vestments  if  they  require  it,  and  fire,  and 
water  to  wash,  and  wine  and  ale;  and  bid  the  cooks 
add  what  they  hastily  can  to  our  evening  meal ;  and  let 
it  be  put  on  the  board  when  those  strangers  are  ready  21° 
to  share  it." 

The  prior  Aymer  had  taken  the  opportunity  afforded 
him  of  changing  his  riding-robe  for  one  of  yet  more 
costly  materials,  over  which  he  wore  a  cope  *  curiously 
embroidered.     Besides  the  massive  golden  signet  ring  215 
which  marked  his  ecclesiastical  dignity,  his  fingers,  though 
contrary  to  the  canon,3  were  loaded  with  precious  gems  ; 
his  sandals  were  of  the  finest  leather  which  was  import- 
ed from  Spain  ;  his  beard  trimmed  to  as  small  dimen- 
sions as  his  order  would  possibly  permit,  and  his  shaven  220 
crown  concealed  by  a  scarlet  cap  richly  embroidered. 

The  appearance  of  the  Knight  Templar  was  also 
changed  ;  and,  though  less  studiously  bedecked  with  or- 
nament, his  dress  was  as  rich,  and  his  appearance  far 
more  commanding  than  that  of  his  companion.  He  had  225 
exchanged  his  shirt  of  mail  for  an  under-tunic  of  dark 
purple  silk,  garnished  with  furs,  over  which  flowed  his 
long  robe  of  spotless  white  in  ample  folds.  The  eight- 
pointed  cross  of  his  order  was  cut  on  the  shoulder  of  his 
mantle  in  black  velvet.  The  high  cap  no  longer  invest-  23° 
ed  his  brows,  which  were  only  shaded  by  short  and  thick 
curled  hair  of  a  raven  blackness,  corresponding  to  his 

1  Steward.     Compare  line  279.  % 

3  A  long  cloak-like  garment  worn  by  priests. 
3  Ecclesiastical  rule  or  law. 


tj8  CEDRIC  THE  SAXON,  AND  ROWENA. 

unusually  swart '  complexion.  Nothing  could  be  more 
gracefully  majestic  than  his  step  and  manner,  had  they 
not  been  marked  by  a  predominant  air  of  haughtiness,  235 
easily  acquired  by  the  exercise  of  unresisted  authority. 
These  two  dignified  persons  were  followed  by  their  re- 
spective attendants. 

Cedric  rose  to  receive  his  guests  with  an  air  of  digni- 
fied hospitality,  and,  descending  from  the  dais,  or  elevat-24° 
ed  part  of  his  hall,  made  three  steps  towards  them,  and 
then  awaited  their  approach. 

"  I  grieve,"  he  said,  "  reverend  prior,  that  my  vow 
binds  me  to  advance  no  farther  upon  this  floor  of  my 
fathers,  even  to  receive  such  guests  as  you,  and  this  245 
valiant  knight  of  the  Holy  Temple.  Let  me  also  pray, 
that  you  will  excuse  my  speaking  to  you  in  my  native 
language,  and  that  you  will  reply  in  the  same  if  your 
knowledge  of  it  permits  ;  if  not,  I  sufficiently  understand 
Norman  to  follow  your  meaning."  250 

"Vows,"  said  the  abbot,  "must  be  unloosed,  worthy 
franklin,  or  permit  me  rather  to  say,  worthy  thane, 
though  the  title  is  antiquated.  Vows  are  the  knots 
which  tie  us  to  Heaven — they  are  the  cords  which  bind 
the  sacrifice  to  the  horns  of  the  altar — and  are  therefore,  255 
as  I  said  before,  to  be  unloosened  and  discharged,  un- 
less our  holy  Mother  Church  shall  pronounce  the  con- 
trary. And  respecting  language,  I  willingly,  hold  com- 
munication in  that  spoken  by  my  respected  grandmother, 
Hilda  of  Middleham,  who  died  in  odor  of  sanctity,  lit- 260 
tie  short,  if  we  may  presume  to  say  so,  of  her  glorious 
namesake,  the  blessed  Saint  Hilda *  of  Whitby,  God  be 
gracious  to  her  soul !" 

1  Swarthy,  dark. 

8  A  famous  female  saint,  who  long  resided  in  the  Abbey  at  Whit- 
by, on  the  coast  of  Yorkshire.    See  Scott's  Matmion,  canto  ii. 


CEDRIC   THE  SAXON,  AND  ROWENA.  59 

The  feast  which  was  spread  upon  the  board  needed 
no  apologies  from   the  lord  of  the  mansion.     Swine's  265 
flesh,  dressed  in  several  modes,  appeared  on  the  lower 
part  of  the  board,  as  also  that  of  fowls,  deer,  goats,  and 
hares,  and   various  kinds   of  fish,  together   with   huge 
loaves  and  cakes  of  bread,  and  sundry  confections  made 
of  fruits  and  honey.     The  smaller  sorts  of  wild-fowl,  of  27° 
which  there  was  abundance,  were  not  served  up  in  plat- 
ters, but  brought  in  upon  small  wooden  spits  or  broaches, 
and  offered  by  the  pages  and  domestics  who  bore  them 
to  each  guest  in  succession,  who  put  from  them  such  a 
portion  as  he  pleased.     Beside  each  person  of  rank  was  275 
placed  a  goblet  of  silver ;  the  lower  board  was  accom- 
modated with  large  drinking-horns.1 

When  the  repast  was  about  to  commence,  the  major- 
domo,  or  steward,  suddenly  raising  his  wand,  said  aloud, 
"Forbear! — Place  for  the  Lady  Rowena."  A  side-door 280 
at  the  upper  end  of  the  hall  now  opened  behind  the 
banquet -table,  and  Rowena,  followed  by  four  female 
attendants,  entered  the  apartment.  Cedric,  though  sur- 
prised, and  perhaps  not  altogether  agreeably  so,  at  his 
ward  appearing  in  public  on  this  occasion,  hastened  to  285 
meet  her,  and  to  conduct  her  with  respectful  ceremony 
to  the  elevated  seat  at  his  own  right  hand,  appropriated 
to  the  lady  of  the  mansion.  All  stood  up  to  receive 
her;  and,  replying  to  their  courtesy  by  a  mute  gesture 
of  salutation,  she  moved  gracefully  forward  to  assume  29° 
her  place  at  the  board.  Brian  de  Bois-Guilbert  kept 
his  eyes  riveted  on  the  Saxon  beauty,  more  striking  per- 
haps to  his  imagination  because  differing  widely  from 
that  of  the  Eastern  sultanas. 

Formed  in  the  best  proportions  of  her  sex,  Rowena  29S 
1  These  cups  were  actually  made  of  the  horns  of  animals. 


60  CEDRIC  THE  SAXON,  AND  ROWENA. 

was  tall  in  stature,  yet  not  so  much  so  as  to  attract  ob- 
servation on  account  of  superior  height.  Her  complex- 
ion was  exquisitely  fair,  but  the  noble  cast  of  her  head 
and  features  prevented  the  insipidity  which  sometimes 
attaches  to  fair  beauties.  Her  clear  blue  eye,  which  s°° 
sate  enshrined  beneath  a  graceful  eyebrow  of  brown, 
sufficiently  marked  to  give  expression  to  the  forehead, 
seemed  capable  to  kindle  as  well  as  melt,  to  command 
as  well  as  to  beseech.  If  mildness  were  the  more  natural 
expression  of  such  a  combination  of  features,  it  was  plain  3°s 
that  in  the  present  instance  the  exercise  of  habitual  su- 
periority and  the  reception  of  general  homage  had 
given  to  the  Saxon  lady  a  loftier  character,  which  min- 
gled with  and  qualified  that  bestowed  by  nature.  Her 
profuse  hair,  of  a  color  betwixt  brown  and  flaxen,  was  31° 
arranged  in  a  fanciful  and  graceful  manner  in  numerous 
ringlets,  to  form  which  art  had  probably  aided  nature. 
These  locks  were  braided  with  gems,  and,  being  worn  at 
full  length,  intimated  the  noble  birth  and  free-born  con- 
dition of  the  maiden.  A  golden  chain,  to  which  was  315 
attached  a  small  reliquary '  of  the  same  metal,  hung^ round 
her  neck.  She  wore  bracelets  on  her  arms,  which  were 
bare.  Her  dress  was  an  under-gown  and  kirtle'of  pale 
sea-green  silk,  over  which  hung  a  long,  loose  robe  which 
reached  to  the  ground,  having  very  wide  sleeves,  which  320 
came  down,  however,  very  little  below  the  elbow.  This 
robe  was  crimson,  and  manufactured  out  of  the  very 
finest  wool.  A  veil  of  silk,  interwoven  with  gold,  was 
attached  to  the  upper  part  of  it,  which  could  be,  at  the 
wearer's  pleasure,  either  drawn  over  the  face  and  bosom  325 

1  Casket  for  holding  relics. 

*  Here  apparently  a  jacket  or  upper  garment.     It  often  means  a 
skirt,  or  petticoat. 


CEDRIC    THE  SAXON,  AND  ROWENA.  6 1 

after  the  Spanish  fashion,  or  disposed  as  a  sort  of  drapery 
round  the  shoulders. 

When  Rowena  perceived  the  Knight  Templar's  eyes 
bent  on  her  with  an  ardor  that,  compared  with  the  dark 
caverns  under  which  they  moved,  gave  them  the  effect  of  33° 
lighted  charcoal,  she  drew  with  dignity  the  veil  around 
her  face,  as  an  intimation  that  the  determined  freedom 
of  his  glance  was  disagreeable.     Cedric  saw  the  motion 
and  its  cause.     "  Sir  Templar,"  said  he,  "  the  cheeks  of 
our  Saxon  maidens  have  seen  too  little  of  the  sun  to  en- 335 
able  them  to  bear  the  fixed  glance  of  a  crusader." 

"  If  I  have  offended,"  replied  Sir  Brian,  "  I  crave  your 
pardon — that  is,  I  crave  the  Lady  Rowena's  pardon — 
for  my  humility  will  carry  me  no  lower." 

"  The  Lady  Rowena,"  said  the  prior,  "  has  punished  340 
us  all  in  chastising  the  boldness  of  my  friend.     Let  me 
hope  she  will  be  less  cruel  to  the  splendid  train  which 
are  to  meet  at  the  tournament." 


TOURNAMENT   AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE. 

THE  scene  was  singularly  romantic.  On  the  verge  of 
a  wood,  which  approached  to  within  a  mile  of  the  town 
of  Ashby,  was  an  extensive  meadow  of  the  finest  and 
most  beautiful  green  turf,  surrounded  on  one  side  by  the 
forest,  and  fringed  on  the  other  by  straggling  oak-trees,  s 
some  of  which  had  grown  to  an  immense  size.  The 
ground,  as  if  fashioned  on  purpose  for  the  martial  dis- 
play which  was  intended,  sloped  gradually  down  on  all 
sides  to  a  level  bottom,  which  was  enclosed  for  the  lists * 
with  strong  palisades,  forming  a  space  of  a  quarter  of  a  10 
mile  in  length,  and  about  half  as  broad.  The  form  of 
the  enclosure  was  an  oblong  square,  save  that  the  cor- 
ners were  considerably  rounded  off,  in  order  to  afford 
more  convenience  for  the  spectators.  The  openings  for 
the  entry  of  the  combatants  were  at  the  northern  and  '5 
southern  extremities  of  the  lists,  accessible  by  strong 
wooden  gates,  each  wide  enough  to  admit  two  horsemen 
riding  abreast.  At  each  of  these  portals  were  stationed 
two  heralds,  attended  by  six  trumpets,  as  many  pur- 
suivants, and  a  strong  body  of  men-at-arms  for  maintain- 20 
ing  order  and  ascertaining  the  quality  of  the  knights 
who  proposed  to  engage  in  this  martial  game. 

On  a  platform  beyond  the  southern  entrance,  formed 
by  a  natural  elevation  of  the  ground,  were  pitched  five 
1  The  enclosure  within  which  the  knightly  sports  were  performed. 


TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE.     63 

magnificent  pavilions,  adorned  with  pennons  of  russet  25 
and  black,  the  chosen  colors  of  the  five  knights-chal- 
lengers.    The  cords  of  the  tents  were  of  the  same  color. 
Before  each  pavilion  was  suspended  the  shield  of  the 
knight  by  whom  it  was  occupied,  and  beside  it  stood 
his   squire, -quaintly  disguised  as  a  salvage1  or  sylvan  30 
man,  or  in  some  other  fantastic  dress,  according  to  the 
taste  of  his  master  and  the  character  he  was  pleased  to 
assume  during  the  game.     The  central  pavilion,  as  the 
place  of  honor,  had  been  assigned  to  Brian  de  Bois-Guil- 
bert,  whose  renown  in  all  games  of  chivalry,  no  less  than  35 
his  connection   with  the  knights  who  had  undertaken 
this  passage  of  arms,  had  occasioned  him  to  be  eagerly 
received  into  the  company  of  the  challengers,  and  even 
adopted  as  their  chief  and  leader,  though  he  had  so  re- 
cently joined   them.     On   one   side   of  his   tent  were  4° 
pitched  those  of  Reginald  Front-de-Bceuf  and  Richard 
de  Malvoisin,  and  on  the  other  was  the  pavilion  of  Hugh 
de  Grantmesnil,  a  noble  baron  in  the  vicinity,  whose  an- 
cestor had  been  Lord  High-Steward  of  England  in  the 
time   of  the   Conqueror  and   his   son  William    Rufus.  45 
Ralph  de  Vipont,  a  knight  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  who 
had  some  ancient  possessions  at  a  place  called  Heather, 
near  Ashby -de- la -Zouche,  occupied  the  fifth  pavilion. 
From  the  entrance  into  the  lists,  a  gently  sloping  pas- 
sage, ten  yards  in  breadth,  led  up  to  the  platform  on  50 
which  the  tents  were  pitched.     It  was  strongly  secured 
by  a  palisade  on  each  side,  as  was  the  esplanade  in  front 
of  the  pavilions,  and  the  whole  was  guarded  by  men-at- 
arms. 

The  northern  access  to  the  lists  terminated  in  a  simi-ss 
lar  entrance  of  thirty  feet  in  breadth,  at  the  extremity  of 
1  An  old  form  of  savage. 


64       TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE. 

which  was  a  large  enclosed  space  for  such  knights  as 
might  be  disposed  to  enter  the  lists  with  the  challengers, 
behind  which  were  placed  tents  containing  refreshments 
of  every  kind  for  their  accommodation,  with  armorers,  60 
farriers,  and  other  attendants,  in  readiness  to  give  their 
services  wherever  they  might  be  necessary.  • 

The  exterior  of  the  lists  was  in  part  occupied  by  tem- 
porary galleries,  spread  with  tapestry  and  carpets,  and 
accommodated  with  cushions  for  the  convenience  ofes 
those  ladies  and  nobles  who  were  expected  to  attend 
the  tournament.  A  narrow  space  betwixt  these  galleries 
and  the  lists  gave  accommodation  for  yeomanry1  and 
spectators  of  a  better  degree  than  the  mere  vulgar,  and 
might  be  compared  to  the  pit  of  a  theatre.  The  pro- 70 
miscuous  multitude  arranged  themselves  upon  the  large 
banks  of  turf  prepared  for  the  purpose,  which,  aided  by 
the  natural  elevation  of  the  ground,  enabled  them  to  over- 
look the  galleries,  and  obtain  a  fair  view  into  the  lists. 
Besides  the  accommodation  which  these  stations  afforded,  75 
many  hundreds  had  perched  themselves  on  the  branches 
of  the  trees  which  surrounded  the  meadow ;  and  even 
the  steeple  of  a  country  church  at  some  distance  was 
crowded  with  spectators. 

It  only  remains  to  notice  respecting  the  general  ar-8o 
rangement,  that  one. gallery  in  the  very  centre  of  the 
eastern  side  of  the  lists,  and  consequently  exactly  oppo- 
site to  the  spot  where  the  shock  of  the  combat  was  to 
take  place,  was  raised  higher  than  the  others,  more  richly 
decorated,  and  graced  by  a  sort  of  throne  and  canopy,  8$ 
on  which  the  royal  arms  were  emblazoned.     Squires, 
pages,  and  yeomen  in  rich  liveries  waited  around  this 

1  The  class  ranking  between  gentlemen  and  laborers;  small  land- 
ed proprietors. 


TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE.      6=? 

«J 

place  of  honor,  which  was  designed  for  Prince  John  and 
his  attendants.  Opposite  to  this  royal  gallery  was  an- 
other, elevated  to  the  same  height,  on  the  western  side  9° 
of  the  lists ;  and  more  gayly  if  less  sumptuously  deco- 
rated than  that  destined  for  the  prince  himself.  A  train 
of  pages  and  of  young  maidens,  the  most  beautiful  who 
could  be  selected,  gayly  dressed  in  fancy  habits  of  green 
and  pink,  surrounded  a  throne  decorated  in  the  same  95 
colors.  Among  pennons  and  flags  bearing  wounded 
hearts,  burning  hearts,  bleeding  hearts,  bows  and  quiv- 
ers, and  all  the  commonplace  emblems  of  the  triumphs 
of  Cupid,  a  blazoned  inscription  informed  the  specta- 
tors that  this  seat  of  honor  was  designed  for  La  Royne  100 
de  la  Beaultk  et  des  Amours?  But  who  was  to  represent 
the  Queen  of  Beauty  and  of  Love  on  the  present  occa- 
sion no  one  was  prepared  to  guess. 

Meanwhile,  spectators  of  every  description   thronged 
forward  to  occupy  their  respective  stations,  and  not  with- 105 
out  many  quarrels  concerning  those  which  they  were 
entitled  to  hold.     Some  of  these  were  settled  by  the 
men-at-arms  with  brief  ceremony ;   the  shafts  of  their 
battle-axes  and  pummels  of  their  swords  being  readily 
employed  as  arguments  to  convince  the  more  refractory,  no 
Others,  which  involved  the  rival  claims  of  more  elevated 
persons,  were  determined  by  the  heralds,  or  by  the  two 
marshals  of  the  field,  William  de  Wyvil  and  Stephen  de 
Martival,  who,  armed  at  all  points,  rode  up  and  down 
the  lists  to  enforce  and  preserve  good  order  among  the  "s 
spectators. 

Gradually  the  galleries  became  filled  with  knights  and 

1  This  is  old  French  for  "The  Queen  of  Beauty  and  Love." 
In  modern  French  Royne  would  be  Rente,  and  Beaulte  would  be 
Beautl. 

5 


66       TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE. 

nobles  in  their  robes  of  peace,  whose  long  and  rich-tinted 
mantles  were  contrasted  with  the  gayer  and  more  splen- 
did habits  of  the  ladies,  who,  in  a  greater  proportion  120 
than  even  the  men  themselves,  thronged  to  witness  a 
sport  which  one  would  have  thought  too  bloody  and 
dangerous  to  afford  their  sex  much  pleasure.  The  lower 
and  interior  space  was  soon  filled  by  substantial  yeomen 
and  burghers,  and  such  of  the  lesser  gentry  as,  from  125 
modesty,  poverty,  or  dubious  title,  durst  not  assume  any 
higher  place.  It  was  of  course  among  these  that  the 
most  frequent  disputes  for  precedence  occurred. 

"  Dog  of  an  unbeliever,"  said  an  old  man,  whose  thread- 
bare tunic  bore  witness  to  his  poverty,  as  his  sword,  and  13° 
dagger,  and  golden  chain  intimated  his  pretensions  to 
rank, — "whelp  of  a  she-wolf!  darest  thou  press  upon  a 
Christian,  and  a  Norman  gentleman  of  the  blood  of 
Montdidier  ?" 

This  rough  expostulation  was  addressed  to  Isaac  [the  135 
Jew],  who,  richly  and  even  magnificently  dressed  in  a 
gaberdine1  ornamented  with  lace  and  lined  with  fur, 
was  endeavoring  to  make  place  in  the  foremost  row 
beneath  the  gallery  for  his  daughter,  the  beautiful  Re- 
becca, who  had  joined  him  at  Ashby,  and  who  was  now  M° 
hanging  on  her  father's  arm,  not  a  little  terrified  by  the 
popular  displeasure  which  seemed  generally  excited  by 
her  parent's  presumption.  But  Isaac,  though  sufficiently 
timid  on  other  occasions,  knew  well  that  at  present  he 
had  nothing  to  fear.  It  was  not  in  places  of  general  re-  MS 
sort,  or  where  their  equals  were  assembled,  that  any  ava- 
ricious or  malevolent  noble  durst  offer  him  injury.  At 
such  meetings  the  Jews  were  under  the  protection  of 
the  general  law ;  and  if  that  proved  a  weak  assurance, 
1  A  loose  frock. 


TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE.       67 

it  usually  happened  that  there  were  among  the  persons  150 
assembled  some  barons  who,  for  their  own  interested 
motives,  were  ready  to  act  as  their  protectors. 

In  his  joyous  caracole *  round  the  lists,  the  attention 
of  the  prince  was  called  by  the  commotion  which  had 
attended  the  ambitious  movement  of  Isaac  towards  the  155 
higher  places  of  the  assembly.  The  quick  eye  of  Prince 
John  instantly  recognized  the  Jew,  but  was  much  more 
agreeably  attracted  by  the  beautiful  daughter  of  Zion, 
who,  terrified  by  the  tumult,  clung  close  to  the  arm  of 
her  aged  father.  160 

The  figure  of  Rebecca  might  indeed  have  compared 
with  the  proudest  beauties  of  England,  even  though  it 
had  been  judged  by  as  shrewd  a  connoisseur2  as  Prince 
John.  Her  form  was  exquisitely  symmetrical,  and  was 
shown  to  advantage  by  a  sort  of  Eastern  dress,  which  165 
she  wore  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  females  of  her 
nation.  Her  turban  of  yellow  silk  suited  well  with  the 
darkness  of  her  complexion.  The  brilliancy  of  her  eyes, 
the  superb  arch  of  her  eyebrows,  her  well-formed  aqui- 
line nose,  her  teeth  as  white  as  pearl,  and  the  pro-  »7° 
fusion  of  her  sable  tresses,  which,  each  arranged  in  its 
own  little  spiral  of  twisted  curls,  fell  down  upon  as 
much  of  a  lovely  neck  as  a  simarre3  of  the  richest 
Persian  silk,  exhibiting  flowers  in  their  natural  colors 
embossed  upon  a  purple  ground,  permitted  to  be  175 
visible — all  these  constituted  a  combination  of  loveli- 
ness which  yielded  not  to  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
maidens  who  surrounded  her.  Of  the  golden  and  pearl- 

1  A  half-turn  of  a  horseman  to  right  or  left. 
*  Critical  judge. 

8  A  light  and  loose  garment ;  also  spelt  simar,  simars,  cimar,  cy~ 
mar,  and  chimmar. 


68      TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE. 

studded  clasps  which  closed  her  vest  from  the  throat 
to  the  waist,  the  three  uppermost  were  left  unfastened  180 
on  account  of  the   heat.     A   diamond   necklace,  with 
pendants  of  inestimable  value,  was  by  this  means  made 
more  conspicuous.     The  feather  of  an  ostrich,  fastened 
in   her   turban  by  an  agraffe1  set  with  brilliants,  was 
another    distinction    of   the    beautiful    Jewess,    scoffed  i85 
and  sneered   at  by  proud   dames  who  sat  above  her, 
but  secretly  envied  by  those   who  affected   to   deride 
them. 

\The  Jew  and  his  daughter  obtain  places  in  front  of  the 
lower  ring,  and  Prince  John  gives  signal  to  the  heralds  to 
proclaim  the  laws  of  the  Tournament^ 

First,  the  five  challengers  were  to  undertake3  all 
comers.  19° 

Secondly,  any  knight  proposing  to  combat,  might,  if 
he  pleased,  select  a  special  antagonist  from  among  the 
challengers  by  touching  his  shield.  If  he  did  so  with 
the  reverse  of  his  lance,  the  trial  of  skill  was  made  with 
what  were  called  the  arms  of  courtesy,  that  is,  with  lances  195 
at  whose  extremity  a  piece  of  round  flat  board  was  fixed, 
so  that  no  danger  was  encountered  save  from  the  shock 
of  the  horses  and  riders.  But  if  the  shield  was  touched 
with  the  sharp  end  of  the  lance,  the  combat  was  under- 
stood to  be  at  outrance ;*  that  is,  the  knights  were  to  fight200 
with  sharp  weapons,  as  in  actual  battle. 

Thirdly,  when  the  knights  present  had  accomplished 
their  vow,  by  each  of  them  breaking  five  lances,  the 
prince  was  to  declare  the  victor  in  the  first  day's  tour- 

1  Clasp  (French  agrafe). 
9  That  is,  to  meet  or  encounter. 

1  The  French  a  entrance  (often  incorrectly  given  cl  f  oittraiicc\  or 
"  to  the  bitter  end." 


TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE.       69 

ney,  who  should  receive  as  prize  a  war-horse  of  exquisite  205 
beauty  and  matchless  strength;  and  in  addition  to  this 
reward  of  valor,  it  was  now  declared  that  he  should  have 
the  peculiar  honor  of  naming  the  Queen  of  Love  and 
Beauty. 

The  lists  now  presented  a  most  splendid  spectacle.  **° 
The  sloping  galleries  were  crowded  with  all  that  was 
noble,  great,  wealth)',  and  beautiful  in  the  northern  and 
midland  parts  of  England  ;  and  the  contrast  of  the  va- 
rious dresses  of  these  dignified  spectators  rendered  the 
view  as  gay  as  it  was  rich,  while  the  interior  and  lower  215 
space,  filled  with  the  substantial  burgesses '  and  yeomen 
of  merry  England,  formed,  in  their  more  plain  attire,  a 
dark  fringe  or  border  around  this  circle  of  brilliant  em- 
broidery, relieving  and,  at  the  same  time,  setting  off  its 
splendor.  220 

The  heralds  finished  their  proclamation  with  their 
usual  cry  of  "  Largesse,  largesse,2  gallant  knights!"  and 
gold  and  silver  pieces  were  showered  on  them  from  the 
galleries,  it  being  a  high  point  of  chivalry  to  exhibit 
liberality  towards  those  whom  the  age  accounted  at  225 
once  the  secretaries  and  the  historians  of  honor.  The 
bounty  of  the  spectators  was  acknowledged  by  the  cus- 
tomary shouts  of  "Love  of  Ladies — Death  of  Cham- 
pions— Honor  to  the  Generous — Glory  to  the  Brave !" — 
to  which  the  more  humble  spectators  added  their  accla-  230 
mations,  and  a  numerous  band  of  trumpeters  the  flour- 
ish of  their  martial  instruments.  When  these  sounds 
had  ceased,  the  heralds  withdrew  from  the  lists  in  gay 
and  glittering  procession,  and  none  remained  within 

1  Citizens  or  freemen  of  a  borough,  or  walled  town. 
*  "  The  cry  with  which  heralds  acknowledged  the  gifts  of  the 
knights  "  (Scott).     It  is  the  French  form  of  our  largess. 


70       TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE. 

them  save  the  marshals  of  the  field,  who,  armed  cap-a-  233 
pie,1  sat  on  horseback,  motionless  as  statues,  at  the  op- 
posite ends  of  the  lists.     Meantime,  the  enclosed  space 
at  the  northern  extremity  of  the  lists,  large  as  it  was, 
was  now  completely  crowded  with  knights  desirous  to 
prove   their  skill   against   the   challengers,  and,  when  240 
viewed  from  the  galleries,  presented  the  appearance  of 
a  sea  of  waving  plumage,  intermixed  with  glistening  hel- 
mets and  tall  lances  to  the  extremities  of  which  were, 
in  many  cases,  attached  small  pennons  of  about  a  span's 
breadth,  which,  fluttering  in  the  air  as  the  breeze  caught  245 
them,  joined  with  the  restless  motion  of  the  feathers  to 
add  liveliness  to  the  scene. 

At  length  the  barriers  were  opened,  and  five  knights, 
chosen  by  lot,  advanced  slowly  into  the  area;  a  single 
champion  riding  in  front,  and  the  other  four  following  250 
in  pairs.     All  were  splendidly  armed,  and  my  Saxon  au- 
thority (in  the  Wardour  Manuscript)  records  at  great 
length  their  devices,  their  colors,  and  the  embroidery 
of  their  horse-trappings.     It  is  unnecessary  to  be  par- 
ticular on  these  subjects.     To  borrow  lines  from  a  con-  2ss 
temporary  poet,2  who  has  written  but  too  little : 

"  The  knights  are  dust 
And  their  good  swords  are  rust, 
Their  souls  are  with  the  saints,  we  trust." 

Their  escutcheons3  have  long  mouldered  from  the  walls 
of  their  castles.     Their  castles  themselves  are  but  green 
mounds  and  shattered  ruins — the  place  that  once  knew 
them  knows   them   no  more — nay,  many  a  race  since  =&> 
theirs  has  died  out  and  been  forgotten  in  the  very  land 

1  From  head  to  foot  (old  French). 

a  Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge  (1772-1834). 

8  Family  shields,  or  coats-of-arms. 


TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE.      71 

which  they  occupied  with  all  the  authority  of  feudal  pro- 
prietors and  feudal  lords.  What  then  would  it  avail 
the  reader  to  know  their  names,  or  the  evanescent  sym- 
bols of  their  martial  rank  ?  265 

Now,  however,  no  whit '  anticipating  the  oblivion  which 
awaited  their  names  and  feats,  the  champions  advanced 
through  the  lists,  restraining  their  fiery  steeds,  and  com- 
pelling them  to  move  slowly,  while  at  the  same  time 
they  exhibited  their  paces,  together  with  the  grace  and  27° 
dexterity  of  the  riders.  As  the  procession  entered  the 
lists,  the  sound  of  a  wild  barbaric  music  was  heard  from 
behind  the  tents  of  the  challengers,  where  the  perform- 
ers were  concealed.  It  was  of  Eastern  origin,  having 
been  brought  from  the  Holy  Land ;  and  the  mixture  of  275 
the  cymbals  and  bells  seemed  to  bid  welcome  at  once 
and  defiance  to  the  knights  as  they  advanced.  With 
the  eyes  of  an  immense  concourse  of  spectators  fixed 
upon  them,  the  five  knights  advanced  up  the  platform 
upon  which  the  tents  of  the  challengers  stood,  and  there  280 
separating  themselves,  each  touched  slightly,  and  with 
the  reverse  of  his  lance,  the  shield  of  the  antagonist  to 
whom  he  wished  to  oppose  himself.  The  lower  orders 
of  spectators  in  general — nay,  many  of  the  higher  class, 
and  it  is  even  said  several  of  the  ladies,  were  rather  dis-  ^85 
appointed  at  the  champions  choosing  the  arms  of  cour- 
tesy. For  the  same  sort  of  persons  who,  in  the  present 
day,  applaud  most  highly  the  deepest  tragedies,  were 
then  interested  in  a  tournament  exactly  in  proportion 
to  the  danger  incurred  by  the  champions  engaged.  290 

Having  intimated  their  more  pacific  purpose,  the  cham- 
pions retreated  to  the  extremity  of  the  lists,  where  they 
remained  drawn  up  in  a  line ;  while  the  challengers,  sal- 
1  Not  at  all,  by  no  means. 


?2        TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE. 

lying    each  from   his    pavilion,   mounted   their    horses, 
and,  headed    by    Brian    de    Bois  -  Guilbert,  descended  29S 
from   the    platform,   and   opposed   themselves   individ- 
ually to  the  knights  who  had  touched  their  respective 
shields. 

At  the  flourish  of  clarions  and  trumpets,  they  started 
out  against  each  other  at  full  gallop ;  and  such  was  the  3°° 
superior  dexterity  or  good  -  fortune  of  the  challengers 
that  those  opposed  to  Bois-Guilbert,  Malvoisin,and  Front- 
de-Boeuf,  rolled  on  the  ground.  The  antagonist  of  Grant- 
mesnil,  instead  of  bearing  his  lance-point  fair  against  the 
crest  or  the  shield  of  his  enemy,  swerved  so  much  from  3°s 
the  direct  line  as  to  break  the  weapon  athwart1  the  per- 
son of  his  opponent — a  circumstance  which  was  account- 
ed more  disgraceful  than  that  of  being  actually  unhorsed; 
because  the  latter  might  happen  from  accident,  whereas 
the  former  evinced  awkwardness  and  want  of  manage- 31° 
ment  of  the  weapon  and  of  the  horse.  The  fifth  knight 
alone  maintained  the  honor  of  his  party,  and  parted  fair- 
ly with  the  Knight  of  St.  John,  both  splintering  their 
lances  without  advantage  on  either  side. 

The  shouts  of  the  multitude,  together  with  the  accla-3'5 
mations  of  the  heralds  and  the  clangor  of  the  trumpets, 
announced  the  triumph  of  the  victors  and  the  defeat  of 
the  vanquished.    The  former  retreated  to  their  pavilions, 
and  the  latter,  gathering  themselves  up  as  they  could, 
withdrew  from   the  lists  in   disgrace  and  dejection,  to  32° 
agree  with  their  victors  concerning  the  redemption  of 
their  arms  and  their  horses,  which,  according  to  the  laws 
of  the  tournament,  they  had  forfeited.     The  fifth  of  their 
number  alone  tarried  in  the  lists  long  enough  to  be  greet- 
ed by  the  applauses  of  the  spectators,  among  whom  he  325 
1  Crosswise. 


TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE.       73 

retreated,  to  the  aggravation,  doubtless,  of  his  compan- 
ions' mortification. 

A  second  and  a  third  party  of  knights  took  the  field ; 
and  although  they  had  various  success,  yet,  upon  the 
whole,  the  advantage  decidedly  remained  with  the  chal-  33° 
lenders,  not  one  of  whom  lost  his  seat  or  swerved  from 

O  7 

his  charge — misfortunes  which  befell  one  or  two  of  their 
antagonists  in  each  encounter.  The  spirits,  therefore,  of 
those  opposed  to  them  seemed  to  be  considerably  damped 
by  their  continued  success.  Three  knights  only  appeared  335 
on  the  fourth  entry,  who,  avoiding  the  shields  of  Bois- 
Guilbert  and  Front-de-Bceuf,  contented  themselves  with 
touching  those  of  the  three  other  knights  who  had  not 

O  *-3 

altogether  manifested  the  same  strength  and  dexterity. 
This  politic  selection  did  not  alter  the  fortune  of  the  340 
field  ;  the  challengers  were  still  successful :  ofie  of  their 
antagonists  was  overthrown,  and  both  the  others  failed 
in  the  attaint,  that  is,  in  striking  the  helmet  and  shield 
of  their  antagonist  firmly  and  strongly,  with  the  lance 
held  in  a  direct  line,  so  that  the  weapon  might  break  345 
unless  the  champion  was  overthrown. 

After  this  fourth  encounter  there  was  a  considerable 
pause ;  nor  did  it  appear  that  any  one  was  very  desir- 
ous of  renewing  the  contest.  The  spectators  murmured 
among  themselves  ;  for,  among  the  challengers,  Malvoi-  35° 
sin  and  Front-de-Bceuf  were  unpopular  from  their  char- 
acters, and  the  others,  except  Grantmesnil,  were  disliked 
as  strangers  and  foreigners. 

But  none  shared  the  general  feeling  of  dissatisfaction 
so  keenly  as  Cedric  the  Saxon,  who  saw  in  each  advan-sss 
tage  gained  by  the  Norman  challengers  a  repeated  tri- 
umph over  the  honor  of  England.     His  own  education 
had  taught  him  no  skill  in  the  games  of  chivalry,  although, 


74 


TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE. 


with  the  arms  of  his  Saxon  ancestors,  he  had  manifested 
himself  on  many  occasions  a  brave  and  determined  sol- 360 
dier. 

At  length,  as  the  Saracenic  music  of  the  challengers 
concluded  one  of  those  long  and  high  flourishes  with 
which  they  had  broken  the  silence  of  the  lists,  it  was  an- 
swered by  a  solitary  trumpet,  which  breathed  a  note  of  365 
defiance  from  the  northern  extremity.  All  eyes  were 
turned  to  see  the  new  champion  which  these  sounds  an- 
nounced, and  no  sooner  were  the  barriers  opened  than 
he  paced  into  the  lists.  As  far  as  could  be  judged  of  a 
man  sheathed  in  armor,  the  new  adventurer  did  not  37° 
greatly  exceed  the  middle  size,  and  seemed  to  be  rather 
slender  than  strongly  made.  His  suit  of  armor  was 
formed  of  steel,  richly  inlaid1  with  gold,  and  the  device 
on  his  shueld  was  a  young  oak-tree  pulled  up  by  the 
roots,  with  the  Spanish  word  Desdichado,  signifying  Dis-  375 
inherited.  He  was  mounted  on  a  gallant  black  horse, 
and  as  he  passed  through  the  lists  he  gracefully  saluted 
the  prince  and  the  ladies  by  lowering  his  lance.  The 
dexterity  with  which  he  managed  his  steed,  and  some- 
thing of  youthful  grace  which  he  displayed  in  his  manner,  380 
won  him  the  favor  of  the  multitude,  which  some  of  the 
lower  classes  expressed  by  calling  out,  "Touch  Ralph 
de  Vipont's  shield  —  touch  the  Hospitaller's2  shield; 
he  has  the  least  sure  seat,  he  is  your  cheapest  bar- 
gain." 385 

The  champion,  moving  onward  amid  these  well-meant 
hints,  ascended  the  platform  by  the  sloping  alley  which 

1  Many  fine  specimens  of  armor  thus  inlaid  with  gold  may  be 
seen  in  the  Tower  of  London  and  other  foreign  collections. 

*  The  Hospitallers  were  an  order  of  knights  who  built  a  hospital 
for  pilgrims  at  Jerusalem  in  the  year  1042. 


TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA  ZOUCHE. 


75 


led  to  it  from  the  lists,  and  to  the  astonishment  of  all 
present,  riding  straight  up  to  the  central  pavilion,  struck 
with  the  sharp  end  of  his  spear  the  shield  of  Brian  de  39° 
Bois-Guilbert  until  it  rung  again.  All  stood  astonished 
at  his  presumption,  but  none  more  than  the  redoubted 
knight  whom  he  had  thus  defied  to  mortal  combat,  and 
who,  little  expecting  so  rude  a  challenge,  was  standing 
carelessly  at  the  door  of  the  pavilion.  39S 

"  Have  you  confessed  yourself,  brother,"  said  the  Tem- 
plar, "  and  have  you  heard  mass  this  morning,  that  you 
peril  your  life  so  frankly  ?" 

"  I    am   fitter   to    meet    death   than   thou   art,"   an- 
swered the  Disinherited  Knight ;  for  by  this  name  the  400 
stranger  had    recorded   himself  in   the   books   of  the 
tourney. 

"  Then  take  your  place  in  the  lists,"  said  Bois-Guil- 
bert, "  and  look  your  last  upon  the  sun ;  for  this  night 
thou  shall  sleep  in  Paradise."  405 

"  Gramercy  1  for  thy  courtesy,"  replied  the  Disinher- 
ited Knight ;  "  and  to  requite  it,  I  advise  thee  to  take  a 
fresh  horse  and  a  new  lance,  for  by  my  honor  you  will 
need  both." 

Having  expressed  himself  thus  confidently,  he  reined  41° 
his  horse  backward  down  the  slope  which  he  had  as- 
cended, and  compelled  him  in  the  same  manner  to  move 
backward  through  the  lists  till  he  reached  the  northern 
extremity,  where  he  remained  stationary,  in  expectation 
of  his  antagonist.     This  feat  of  horsemanship  again  at-4'S 
tracted  the  applause  of  the  multitude. 

However  incensed  at  his  adversary  for  the  precautions 
which  he  recommended,  Brian  de  Bois-Guilbert  did  not 
neglect  his  advice;  for  his  honor  was  too  nearly  con- 
1  Great  thanks ;  a  corruption  of  the  French  grand  merci. 


7  6       rc>  Wff  M4  ME  NT  A  T  A  SHE  Y-DE-LA  -ZO  UCHE. 

cerned  to  permit  his  neglecting  any  means  which  might  42° 
insure  victory  over  his  presumptuous  opponent.  He 
changed  his  horse  for  a  proved  and  fresh  one  of  great 
strength  and  spirit.  He  chose  a  new  and  a  tough  spear, 
lest  the  wood  of  the  former  might  have  been  strained  in 
the  previous  encounters  he  had  sustained.  Lastly,  he  425 
laid  aside  his  shield,  which  had  received  some  little  dam- 
age, and  received  another  from  his  squires.  His  first 
had  only  borne  the  general  device  of  his  rider,  represent- 
ing two  knights  riding  upon  one  horse,  an  emblem  ex- 
pressive of  the  original  humility  and  poverty  of  the  Tern- 43° 
plars,  qualities  which  they  had  since  exchanged  for  the 
arrogance  and  wealth  that  finally  occasioned  their  sup- 
pression. Bois-Guilbert's  new  shield  bore  a  raven  in 
full  flight,  holding  in  its  claws  a  skull,  and  bearing  the 
motto,  Gare  le. Cor  beau.1  '435 

When  the  two  champions  stood  opposed  to  each 
other  at  the  two  extremities  of  the  lists,  the  public  ex- 
pectation was  strained  to  the  highest  pitch.  Few  au- 
gured the  possibility  that  the  encounter  could  terminate 
well  for  the  Disinherited  Knight,  yet  his  courage  and  44° 
gallantry  secured  the  general  good  wishes  of  the  specta- 
tors. 

The  trumpets  had  no  sooner  given  the  signal  than  the 
champions  vanished  from  their  posts  with  the  speed  of 
lightning,  and  closed  in  the  centre  of  the  lists  with  the  445 
shock  of  a  thunderbolt.     The  lances  burst  into  shivers 
up  to  the  very  grasp,  and  it  seemed  at  the  moment  that 
both  knights  had  fallen,  for  the  shock  had  made  each 
horse  recoil  backwards  upon  its  haunches.    The  address 
of  the  riders  recovered  their  steeds  by  use  of  the  bridle  45° 
and  spur ;  and  having  glared  on  each  other  for  an  in- 
1  Beware  the  Raven  (French). 


TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE.       77 

stant  with  eyes  which  seemed  to  flash  fire  through  the 
bars  of  their  visors,  each  made  a  demi-volte,1  and,  re- 
tiring to  the  extremity  of  the  lists,  received  a  fresh  lance 
from  the  attendants.  455 

A  loud  shout  from  the  spectators,  waving  of  scarfs 
and  handkerchiefs,  and  general  acclamations,  attested 
the  interest  taken  by  the  spectators  in  this  encounter; 
the  most  equal,  as  well  as  the  best  performed,  which  had 
graced  the  day.  But  no  sooner  had  the  knights  resumed  46° 
their  station  than  the  clamor  of  applause  was  hushed 
into  a  silence  so  deep  and  so  dead  that  it  seemed  the 
multitude  were  afraid  even  to  breathe. 

A  few  minutes'  pause  having  been  allowed,  that  the 
combatants  and  their  horses  might  recover  breath,  Prince  465 
John  with  his  truncheon  signed  to  the  trumpets  to  sound 
the  onset.  The  champions  a  second  time  sprung  from 
their  stations,  and  closed  in  the  centre  of  the  lists  with 
the  same  speed,  the  same  dexterity,  the  same  violence, 
but  not  the  same  equal  fortune  as  before.  47° 

In  this  second  encounter  the  Templar  aimed  at  the 
centre  of  his  antagonist's  shield,  and  struck  it  so  fair 
and  forcibly  that  his  spear  went  to  shivers,  and  the  Dis- 
inherited Knight  reeled  in  his  saddle.  On  the  other 
hand,  that  champion  had  in  the  beginning  of  his  career  475 
directed  the  point  of  his  lance  towards  Bois-Guilbert's 
shield,  but,  changing  his  aim  almost  in  the  moment  of 
encounter,  he  addressed  it  to  the  helmet,  a  mark  more 
difficult  to  hit,  but  which,  if  attained,  rendered  the  shock 
more  irresistible.  Fair  and  true  he  hit  the  Norman  on  480 
the  visor,  where  his  lance's  point  kept  hold  of  the  bars. 
Yet,  even  at  this  disadvantage,  the  Templar  sustained 

1  A  movement  of  the  horse  in  which  he  raises  his  fore-feet  in  a 
particular  manner. 


78       TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE. 

his  high  reputation  ;  and  had  not  the  girths  of  his  saddle 
burst,  he  might  not  have  been  unhorsed.     As  it  chanced, 
however,  saddle,  horse,  and  man  rolled  on  the  ground  485 
under  a  cloud  of  dust. 

To  extricate  himself  from  the  stirrups  and  fallen  steed 
was  to  the  Templar  scarce  the  work  of  a  moment ;  and, 
stung  with  madness,  both  at  his  disgrace  and  at  the  ac- 
clamations with  which  it  was  hailed  by  the  spectators,  he  490 
drew  his  sword  and  waved  it  in  defiance  of  his  conqueror. 
The  Disinherited  Knight  sprung  from  his  steed,  and  also 
unsheathed  his  sword.     The  marshals  of  the  field,  how- 
ever, spurred  their  horses  between  them,  and  reminded 
them  that  the  laws  of  the  tournament  did  not,  on  the  495 
present  occasion,  permit  this  species  of  encounter. 

"We  shall  meet  again,  I  trust,"  said  the  Templar, 
casting  a  resentful  glance  at  his  antagonist;  "and  where 
there  are  none  to  separate  us." 

"If  we  do  not,"  said  the  Disinherited  Knight,  "thes°o 
fault  shall  not  be  mine.     On  foot  or  horseback,  with 
spear,  with  axe,  or  with  sword,  I  am  alike  ready  to  en- 
counter thee." 

More  and  angrier  words  would  have  been  exchanged, 
but  the  marshals,  crossing  their  lances  betwixt  them,  s°5 
compelled  them  to  separate.  The  Disinherited  Knight 
returned  to  his  first  station,  and  Bois-Guilbert  to  his  tent, 
where  he  remained  for  the  rest  of  the  day  in  an  agony 
of  despair. 

Without  alighting  from  his  horse,  the  conqueror  called  SIQ 
for  a  bowl  of  wine,  and  opening  the  beaver,  or  lower 
part  of  his  helmet,  announced  that  he  quaffed  it,  "To  all 
true  English  hearts,  and  to  the  confusion  of  foreign  ty- 
rants." He  then  commanded  his  trumpet  to  sound  a 
defiance  to  the  challengers,  and  desired  a  herald  to  an- 515 


TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE.       79 

nounce  to  them  that  he  should  make  no  election,  but  was 
willing  to  encounter  them  in  the  order  in  which  they 
pleased  to  advance  against  him. 

The  gigantic  Front-de-Bceuf,  armed   in  sable  armor, 
was  the  first  who  took  the  field.     He  bore  on  a  white  520 
shield  a  black  bull's  head,1  half  defaced  by  the  numer- 
ous encounters  which  he  had  undergone,  and  bearing 
the  arrogant  motto,  Cave,  adswn?     Over  this  champion 
the  Disinherited  Knight  obtained  a  slight  but  decisive 
advantage.     Both  knights  broke  their  lances  fairly,  but  525 
Front-de-Bceuf,  who  lost  a  stirrup  in  the  encounter,  was 
adjudged  to  have  the  disadvantage. 

In  the  stranger's  third  encounter  with  Sir  Philip  Mal- 
voisin  he  was  equally  successful,  striking  that  baron 
so  forcibly  on  the  casque  that  the  laces  of  the  helmet  53° 
broke,  and  Malvoisin,  only  saved  from  falling  by  be- 
ing unhelmeted,  was  declared  vanquished  like  his  com- 
panions. 

In  his  fourth  combat  with  De  Grantmesnil,  the  Disin- 
herited Knight  showed  as  much  courtesy  as  he  had  hith-sss 
erto  evinced  courage  and  dexterity.     De  Grantmesnil's 
horse,  which  was  young  and  violent,  reared  and  plunged 
in  the  course  of  the  career  so  as  to  disturb  the  rider's 
aim,  and  the  stranger,  declining  to  take  the  advantage 
which  this  accident  afforded  him,  raised  his  lance,  and  540 
passing  his  antagonist  without  touching  him,  wheeled 
his  horse  and  rode  back  again  to  his  own  end  of  the 
lists,  offering  his  antagonist,  by  a  herald,  the  chance  of 
a  second  encounter.      This  De  Grantmesnil  declined, 
avowing  himself  vanquished  as  much  by  the  courtesy  as  545 
by  the  address  of  his  opponent. 

1  As  a  symbol  of  his  name,  which  means  BulFs  head. 
3  Beware  ;  I  am  here  (Latin). 


8o       TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE. 

Ralph  de  Vipont  summed  up  the  list  of  the  stranger's 
triumphs,  being  hurled  to  the  ground  with  such  force 
that  the  blood  gushed  from  his  nose  and  his  mouth,  and 
he  was  borne  senseless  from  the  lists.  55° 

The  acclamations  of  thousands  applauded  the  unani- 
mous award  of  the  prince  and  marshals,  announcing  that 
day's  honors  to  the  Disinherited  Knight. 

The  prince  made  a  sign  with  his  truncheon   as  the 
knight  passed  him  in  his  career  around  the  lists.     Thesss 
knight  turned  towards  the  throne,  and,  sinking  his  lance 
until  the  point  was  within  a  foot  of  the  ground,  remained 
motionless,  as  if  expecting  John's  commands ;  while  all 
admired  the  sudden  dexterity  with  which  he  instantly 
reduced  his  fiery  steed  from  a  state  of  violent  emotion  56° 
and   high   excitation  to  the  stillness  of  an   equestrian 
statue. 

"Sir  Disinherited  Knight,"  said  Prince  John,  "since 
that  is  the  only  title  by  which  we  can  address  you,  it  is 
now  your  duty,  as  well  as  privilege,  to  name  the  fair  lady  565 
who,  as  Queen  of  Honor  and  of  Love,  is  to  preside  over 
next  day's  festival.  If,  as  a  stranger  in  our  land,  you 
should  require  the  aid  of  other  judgment  to  guide  your 
own,  we  can  only  say  that  Alicia,  the  daughter  of  our 
gallant  knight  Waldemar  Fitzurse,  has  at  our  court  been  57° 
long  held  the  first  in  beauty  as  in  place.  Nevertheless, 
it  is  your  undoubted  prerogative  to  confer  on  whom  you 
please  this  crown,  by  the  delivery  of  which  to  the  lady 
of  your  choice,  the  election  of  to-morrow's  Queen  will  be 
formal  and  complete.  Raise  your  lance."  s/s 

The  knight  obeyed;  and  Prince  John  placed  upon 
its  point  a  coronet  of  green  satin,  having  around  its  edge 
a  circlet  of  gold,  the  upper  edge  of  which  was  relieved 


82        TO  URNAMENT  A  T  A  SHE  Y-DE-LA-ZO  UCHE. 

by  arrow-points  and  hearts  placed  interchangeably,  like 
the  strawberry  leaves '  and  balls  upon  a  ducal  crown.       580 

The  Disinherited  Knight  passed  the  gallery  close  to 
that  of  the  prince,  in  which  the  Lady  Alicia  was  seated 
in  the  full  pride  of  triumphant  beauty,  and,  pacing  for- 
wards as  slowly  as  he  had  hitherto  rode  swiftly  around 
the  lists,  he  seemed  to  exercise  his  right  of  examining  585 
the  numerous  fair  faces  which  adorned  that  splendid 
circle. 

It  was  worth  while  to  see  the  different  conduct  of  the 
beauties  who  underwent  this   examination   during  the 
time  it  was  proceeding.     Some  blushed,  some  assumed  59° 
an  air  of  pride  and  dignity,  some  looked  straight  for- 
ward, and  essayed  to  seem  utterly  unconscious  of  what 
was  going  on,  some  drew  back  in  alarm,  which  was  per- 
haps affected,  some  endeavored  to  forbear  smiling,  and 
there  were  two  or  three  who  laughed  outright.     There  595 
were   also   some    who    dropped    their   veils   over   their 
charms  ;   but  as  the  Wardour  Manuscript   says    these 
were  fair  ones  of  ten  years'  standing,  it  may  be  supposed 
that,  having  had  their  full  share  of  such  vanities,  they 
were  willing  to  withdraw  their  claim,  in  order  to  give  a&<» 
fair  chance  to  the  rising  beauties  of  the  age. 

At  length  the  champion  paused  beneath  the  balcony 
in  which  the  Lady  Rowena  was  placed,  and  the  expecta- 
tion of  the  spectators  was  excited  to  the  utmost. 

Whether  from  indecision  or  some  other  motive  of  hes-6os 
itation,  the  champion  of  the  day  remained  stationary  for 
more  than  a  minute,  while  the  eyes  of  the  silent  audience 
were  riveted  upon  his  motions ;  and  then,  gradually  and 
gracefully  sinking  the  point  of  his  lance,  he  deposited 

1  The  coronet  of  a  duke  has  eight  strawberry  leaves  in  a  circle 
round  the  top. 


TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE.       83 


the  coronet  which  it  supported  at  the  feet  of  the  fai 
Rowena.     The  trumpets  instantly'  sounded,  while  the 
heralds  proclaimed  the  Lady  Rowena  the  Queen   of 
Beauty  and  of  Love. 


ARCHERY— ROBIN   HOOD. 

[Robin  Hood,  the  "  bold  Outlaw"  is  present  at  the  Tournament,  tinder 
the  name  of  Locksley  the  Yeoman."] 

"THE  yeomen  and  commons,"  said  De  Bracy,  "must 
not  be  dismissed  discontented,  for  lack  of  their  share  in 
the  sports."  f 

"  The   day,"   said  Waldemar,  "  is  not  yet  very   far 
spent — let  the  archers  shoot  a  few  rounds  at  the  target,  5 
and  the  prize  be  adjudged.     This  will  be  an  abundant 
fulfilment  of  the  prince's  promises,  so  far  as  this  herd 
of  Saxon  serfs  is  concerned." 

"  I  thank  thee,  Waldemar,"  said  the  prince ;  "  thou 
remindest  me,  too,  that  I  have  a  debt  to  pay  to  that  in- 10 
solent  peasant  who  yesterday  insulted  our  person." 

The  sound  of  the  trumpets  soon  recalled  those  spec- 
tators who  had  already  begun  to  leave  the  field  ;  and 
proclamation    was   made   that   Prince   John,    suddenly 
called  by  high  and  peremptory  public  duties,  held  him- 15 
self  obliged  to  discontinue  the  entertainments  of  to-mor- 
row's festival.     Nevertheless,  that,  unwilling  so   many 
good  yeomen  should  depart  without  a  trial  of  skill,  he 
was  pleased  to  appoint  them,  before  leaving  the  ground, 
presently  to  execute  the  competition  of  archery  intended  20 
for  the  morrow.     To  the  best  archer  a  prize  was  to  be 
awarded,  being  a  bugle-horn,  mounted  with  silver,  and  a 
silken  baldric1  richly  ornamented  with  a  medallion  of 
Saint  Hubert,  the  patron  of  sylvan  sport. 
1  Belt. 


ARCHERY— ROBIN  HOOD.  85 

More  than  thirty  yeomen  at  first  presented  themselves  25 
as  competitors,  several  of  whom  were  rangers '  and  un- 
der-keepers  in  the  royal  forests  of  Needwood  and  Charn- 
wood.  When,  however,  the  archers  understood  with 
whom  they  were  to  be  matched,  upwards  of  twenty  with- 
drew themselves  from  the  contest,  unwilling  to  encounter  3° 
the  dishonor  of  almost  certain  defeat.  For  in  those 
days  the  skill  of  each  celebrated  marksman  was  as  well 
known  for  many  miles  round  him  as  the  qualities  of  a 
horse  trained  at  Newmarket  are  familiar  to  those  who 
frequent  that  well-known  meeting.  35 

The  diminished  list  of  competitors  for  sylvan  fame 
still  amounted  to  eight.  Prince  John  stepped  from  his 
royal  seat  to  view  more  nearly  the  persons  of  these  cho- 
sen yeomen,  several  of  whom  wore  the  royal  livery. 
Having  satisfied  his  curiosity  by  this  investigation,  he  4° 
looked  for  the  object  of  his  resentment,  whom  he  ob- 
served standing  on  the  same  spot,  and  with  the  same 
composed  countenance  which  he  had  exhibited  upon 
the  preceding  day. 

"Fellow,"  said  Prince  John,  "I  guessed  by  thy  inso-45 
lent  babble  thou  wert  no  true  lover  of  the  long-bow,  and 
I  see  thou  darest  not  adventure  thy  skill  among  such 
merrymen 3  as  stand  yonder." 

"  Under  favor,  sir,"  replied  the  yeoman,  "  I  have  an- 
other reason  for  refraining  to  shoot,  besides  the  fearing  5° 
discomfiture  and  disgrace." 

"  And  what  is  thy  other  reason  ?"  said  Prince  John, 
who,  for  some  cause  which  perhaps  he  could  not  himself 

1  Officers  whose  duty  it  was  to  walk  through  the  forest,  guard 
against  trespassers,  etc. 

2  Archers ;   a  term  often  applied  to  the  companions  of  Robin 
Hood. 


86  ARCHERY— ROBIN  HOOD. 

have  explained,  felt  a  painful  curiosity  respecting  this 
individual.  ss 

"  Because,"  replied  the  woodsman,  "  I  know  not  if 
these  yeomen  and  I  are  used  to  shoot  at  the  same 
marks;  and  because,  moreover,  I  know  not  how  your 
grace  might  relish  the  winning  of  a  third  prize  by  one 
who  has  unwittingly  fallen  under  your  displeasure."  60 

Prince  John  colored  as  he  put  the  question,  "  What  is 
thy  name,  yeoman  ?" 

"  Locksley,"  answered  the  yeoman. 

"  Then,  Locksley,"  said  Prince  John, "  thou  shalt  shoot 
in  thy  turn,  when  these  yeomen  have  displayed  their  65 
skill.  If  thou  earnest  the  prize,  I  will  add  to  it  twenty 
nobles  ;'  but  if  thou  losest  it,  thou  shalt  be  stript  of  thy 
Lincoln  green a  and  scourged  out  of  the  lists  with  bow- 
strings, for  a  wordy  and  insolent  braggart." 

"And  how  if  I  refuse  to  shoot  on  such  a  wager?"  said?0 
the  yeoman.     "Your  grace's  power,  supported  as  it  is 
by  so  many  men-at-arms,  may  indeed  easily  strip  and 
scourge  me,  but  cannot  compel  me  to  bend  or  to  draw 
my  bow." 

"  If  thou  refusest  my  fair  proffer,"  said  the  prince,  75 
"  the  provost  of  the  lists  shall  cut  thy  bowstring,  break 
thy  bow  and  arrows,  and  expel  thee  from  the  presence 
as  a  faint-hearted  craven." 

"  This  is  no  fair  chance  you  put  on  me,  proud  prince," 
said  the  yeoman,  "to  compel  me  to  peril  myself  against  So 
the  best  archers  of  Leicester  and  Staffordshire,  under 
the  penalty  of  infamy  if  they  should  overshoot  me.    Nev- 
ertheless, I  will  obey  your  pleasure." 

1  A  gold  coin  worth  ten  shillings. 

a  A   kind  of  cloth  made  at   Lincoln,  much   worn  by  hunts- 
>  men. 


ARCHERY— ROBIN  HOOD.  %j 

A  target  was  placed  at  the  upper  end  of  the  southern 
avenue  which  led  to  the  lists.  The  contending  archers  85 
took  their  station  in  turn  at  the  bottom  of  the  southern 
access,  the  distance  between  that  station  and  the  mark 
allowing  full  distance  for  what  was  called  a  shot  at 
rovers.  The  archers,  having  previously  determined  by 
lot  their  order  of  precedence,  were  to  shoot  each  three  90 
shafts  in  succession.  The  sports  were  regulated  by  an 
officer  of  inferior  rank,  termed  the  Provost  of  the  Games; 
for  the  high  rank  of  the  marshals  of  the  lists  would  have 
been  held  degraded  had  they  condescended  to  superin- 
tend the  sports  of  the  yeomanry.  95 

One  by  one  the  archers,  stepping  forward,  delivered 
their  shafts  yeomanlike  and  bravely.  Of  twenty-four  ar- 
rows, shot  in  succession,  ten  were  fixed  in  the  target,  and 
the  others  ranged  so  near  it,  that,  considering  the  dis- 
tance of  the  mark,  it  was  accounted  good  archery.  Of  100 
the  ten  shafts  which  hit  the  target,  two  within  the  inner 
ring  were  shot  by  Hubert,  a  forester  in  the  service  of 
Malvoisin,  who  was  accordingly  pronounced  victorious. 

"  Now,  Locksley,"  said  Prince  John  to  the  bold  yeo- 
man, with  a  bitter  smile,  "  wilt  thou  try  conclusions  with  103 
Hubert,  or  wilt  thou  yield  up  bow,  baldric,  and  quiver  to 
the  provost  of  the  sports  ?" 

"  Sith '  it  be  no  better,"  said  Locksley,  "  I  am  content 
to  try  my  fortune,  on  condition  that  when  I  have  shot 
two  shafts  at  yonder  mark  of  Hubert's,  he  shall  be  bound  no 
to  shoot  one  at  that  which  I  shall  propose." 

"  That  is  but  fair,"  answered  Prince  John,  "  and  it 
shall  not  be  refused  thee. — If  thou  dost  beat  this  brag- 
gart, Hubert,  I  will  fill  the  bugle  with  silver  pennies  for 
thee."  »5 

1  Since  ;  an  obsolete  form. 


88  ARCHERY— ROBIN  HOOD. 

"A  man  can  do  but  his  best,"  answered  Hubert; 
"  but  my  grandsire  drew  a  good  long-bow  at  Hastings,1 
and  I  trust  not  to  dishonor  his  memory." 

The  former  target  was  now  removed,  and  a  fresh  one 
of  the  same  size  placed  in  its  room.  Hubert,  who,  as  120 
victor  in  the  first  trial  of  skill,  had  the  right  to  shoot 
first,  took  his  aim  with  great  deliberation,  long  measur- 
ing the  distance  with  his  eye,  while  he  held  in  his  hand 
his  bended  bow  with  the  arrow  placed  on  the  string. 
At  length  he  made  a  step  forward,  and  raising  the  bow  125 
at  the  full  stretch  of  his  left  arm,  till  the  centre  or  grasp- 
ing-place was  nigh  level  with  his  face,  he  drew  his  bow- 
string to  his  ear.  The  arrow  whistled  through  the  air 
and  lighted  within  the  inner  ring  of  the  target,  but  not 
exactly  in  the  centre.  130 

"You  have  not  allowed  for  the  wind,  Hubert,"  said 
his  antagonist,  bending  his  bow,  "  or  that  had  been  a 
better  shot." 

So  saying,  and  without  showing  the  least  anxiety  to 
pause  upon  his  aim,  Locksley  stept  to  the  appointed  sta- 135 
tion,  and  shot  his  arrow  as  carelessly  in  appearance  as 
if  he  had  not  even  looked  at  the  mark.     He  was  speak- 
ing almost  at  the  instant  that  the  shaft  left  the  bow- 
string, yet  it  alighted  in  the  target  two  inches  nearer  to 
the  white  spot  which  marked  the  centre  than  that  of  '4° 
Hubert. 

Hubert  resumed   his  place,  and  not  neglecting  the 
caution  which  he  had  received  from  his  adversary,  he 
made  the  necessary  allowance  for  a  very  light  air  of 
wind  which  had  just  arisen,  and  shot  so  successfully  that  145 
his  arrow  alighted  in  the  very  centre  of  the  target. 

"A  Hubert!  a  Hubert!"  shouted  the  populace,  more 
1  The  battle  of  Hastings. 


ARCHERY— ROBIN  HOOD.  89 

interested  in  a  known  person  than  in  a  stranger.     "  In 
the  clout ! '  in  the  clout  \  a  Hubert  forever  !" 

"  Thou  canst  not  mend  that  shot,  Locksley,"  said  the  15° 
prince,  with  an  insulting  smile. 

"I  will  notch  his  shaft  for  him,  however,"  replied 
Locksley. 

And  letting  fly  his  arrow  with  a  little  more  precaution 
than  before,  it  lighted  right  upon  that  of  his  competitor,  155 
which  it  split  to  shivers.     The  people  who  stood  around 
were  so  astonished  at  his  .wonderful  dexterity  that  they 
could  not  even  give  vent  to  their  surprise  in  their  usual 
clamor.     "This  must  be  the  devil,  and  no  man  of  flesh 
and  blood,"  whispered  the  yeomen  to  each  other ;  "  such  160 
archery  was  never  seen  since  a  bow  was  first  bent  in 
Britain." 

"And  now,"  said  Locksley,  "I  will  crave  your  grace's 
permission  to  plant  such  a  mark  as  is  used  in  the  North 
Country,  and  welcome  every  brave  yeoman   who  shall  165 
try  a  shot  at  it  to  win  a  smile  from  the  bonny  lass  he 
loves  best." 

He  then  turned  to  leave  the  lists.  "  Let  your  guards 
attend  me,"  he  said,  "  if  you  please — I  go  but  to  cut  a 
rod  from  the  next  willow  bush."  170 

Prince  John  made  a  signal  that  some  attendants 
should  follow  him  in  case  of  his  escape ;  but  the  cry  of 
"Shame!  shame!"  which  burst  from  the  multitude,  in- 
duced him  to  alter  his  ungenerous  purpose. 

Locksley  returned  almost  instantly  with  a  willow- 175 
wand  about  six  feet  in  length,  perfectly  straight,  and 
rather  thicker  than  a  man's  thumb.  He  began  to  peel 
this  with  great  composure,  observing  at  the  same  time, 
that  to  ask  a  good  woodsman  to  shoot  at  a  target  so 
1  The  white  centre  of  the  target,  mentioned  above. 


9° 


ARCHERY-ROBIN  HOOD. 


broad  as  had  hitherto  been  used  was  to  put  shame  upon  180 
his  skill.  "  For  his  own  part,"  he  said,  "  and  in  the  land 
where  he  was  bred,  men  would  as  soon  take  for  their 
mark  King  Arthur's  round  -  table,  which  held  sixty 
knights  around  it.  A  child  of  seven  years  old,"  he 
said,  "  might  hit  yonder  target  with  a  headless  shaft ;  185 
but,"  added  he,  walking  deliberately  to  the  other  end 
of  the  lists,  and  sticking  the  willow-wand  upright  in  the 
ground,  "  he  that  hits  that  rod  at  five-score  yards,  I  call 
him  an  archer  fit  to  bear  botji  bow  and  quiver  before  a 
king,  an  it  were  the  stout  King  Richard  himself."  190 

"  My  grandsire,"  said  Hubert,  "  drew  a  good  bow  at 
the  battle  of  Hastings,  and  never  shot  at  such  a  mark  in 
his  life — and  neither  will  I.  If  this  yeoman  can  cleave 
that  rod,  I  give  him  the  bucklers ' — or  rather,  I  yield  to 
the  devil  that  is  in  his  jerkin,2  and  not  to  any  human  195 
skill ;  a  man  can  but  do  his  best,  and  I  will  not  shoot 
where  I  am  sure  to  miss.  I  might  as  well  shoot  at  the 
edge  of  our  parson's  whittle,3  or  at  a  wheat  straw,  or  at 
a  sunbeam,  as  at  a  twinkling  white  streak  which  I  can 
hardly  see."  200 

"  Cowardly  dog  !"  said  Prince  John.  "  Sirrah  Locks- 
ley,  do  thou  shoot ;  but  if  thou  hittest  such  a  mark,  I 
will  say  thou  art  the  first  man  ever  did  so.  Howe'er  it 
be,  thou  shalt  not  crow  over  us  with  a  mere  show  of 
superior  skill."  205 

"  I  will  do  my  best,  as  Hubert  says,"  answered  Locks- 
ley  ;  "no  man  can  do  more." 

So  saying,  he  again  bent  his  bow,  but  on  the  present 
occasion  looked  with  attention  to  his  weapon,  and 
changed  the  string,  which  he  thought  was  no  longer  210 

1  I  give  up  the  contest,  own  myseif  beaten. 

8  Short  coat,  or  jacket.  3  Knife.     See  p.  42  above. 


ARCHERY— ROBIN  HOOD.  91 

truly  round,  having  been  a  little  frayed  by  the  two  former 
shots.  He  then  took  his  aim  with  some  deliberation,  and 
the  multitude  awaited  the  event  in  breathless  silence. 
The  archer  vindicated  their  opinion  of  his  skill :  his  ar- 
row split  the  willow  rod  against  which  it  was  aimed.  215 
A  jubilee  of  acclamations  followed ;  and  even  Prince 
John,  in  admiration  of  Locksley's  skill,  lost  for  an  in- 
stant his  dislike  to  his  person.  "  These  twenty  nobles," 
he  said,  "which,  with  the  bugle,  thou  hast  fairly  won, 
are  thine  own  ;  we  will  make  them  fifty  if  thou  wilt  take  220 
livery  and  service  with  us  as  a  yeoman  of  our  body-guard, 
and  be  near  to  our  person.  For  never  did  so  strong 
a  hand  bend  a  bow,  or  so  true  an  eye  direct  a  shaft." 

"  Pardon  me,  noble  prince,"  said  Locksley ;  "  but 
I  have  vowed  that  if  ever  I  take  service  it  should  be  225 
with  your  royal  brother,  King  Richard.  These  twenty 
nobles  I  leave  to  Hubert,  who  has  this  day  drawn  as 
brave  l  a  bow  as  his  grandsire  did  at  Hastings.  Had 
his  modesty  not  refused  the  trial,  he  would  have  hit  the 
wand  as  well  as  I."  230 

Hubert  shook  his  head  as  he  received  with  reluctance 
the  bounty  of  the  stranger  ;  and  Locksley,  anxious  to 
escape  further  observation,  mixed  with  the  crowd,  and 
was  seen  no  more.2 

1  Fine,  excellent. 

-  Of  the  English  archers  in  war  Scott  says  elsewhere :  "  Of  the 
troops  then  employed,  the  bowmen  of  England  were  the  most  for- 
midable at  a  distance.  They  were  selected  from  the  yeomen  of  the 
country,  men  to  whom  the  use  of  the  weapon  had  been  familiar  from 
childhood ;  for  the  practice  of  archery  was  then  encouraged  by  prizes 
and  public  competition  in  every  village,  in  order  to  keep  up  the  skill 
which  the  youth  had  acquired,  and  to  extend  the  renown  of  England, 
as  producing  the  best  bowmen  whom  the  world  had  ever  seen. 

"  The  equipment  and  mode  of  exercise  of  these  archers  were  cal- 


THE   SIEGE  OF  TORQUILSTONE.1 

A  MOMENT  of  peril  is  often  also  a  moment  of  open- 
hearted  kindness  and  affection.  We  are  thrown  off  our 
guard  by  the  general  agitation  of  our  feelings,  and  betray 

culated  to  maintain  their  superiority.  Their  dress  was  light  and 
had  few  ligatures.  Instead  of  the  numerous  strings  which  then  at- 
tached the  jacket  to  the  hose  or  trousers,  one  stout  point,  as  it  was 
called,  answered  the  necessary  purpose,  without  impeding  the  mo- 
tions of  the  wearer.  In  battle  the  sleeve  of  the  right  arm  was  left 
open  to  increase  the  archer's  agility.  Each  of  them  carried  a  bow 
and  twelve  arrows,  or,  as  they  termed  them,  '  the  lives  of  twelve 
Scots,'  at  his  girdle ;  their  shafts  had  a  light  forked  head,  and  were 
carefully  adjusted  so  as  to  fly  true  to  the  aim.  In  using  the  weap- 
on, the  English  archers  observed  a  practice  unknown  on  the  Conti- 
nent, drawing  the  bow-string,  not  to  the  breast,  but  to  the  ear,  which 
gave  a  far  greater  command  of  a  strong  bow  and  long  shaft.  Their 
arrows  were,  accordingly,  a  cloth  yard  in  length,  and  their  bows  car- 
ried to  a  prodigious  distance.  Upon  the  battlements  of  a  castle,  or 
walls  of  a  town,  the  arrows  fell  with  the  rapidity  of  hail,  and  such 
certainty  of  aim  as  scarcely  permitted  a  defender  to  show  himself; 
nor  were  they  less  formidable  when  discharged  against  a  hostile  col- 
umn, whether  of  cavalry  or  infantry,  and  whether  in  motion  or  sta- 
tionary. The  principal  danger  to  which  the  archers  were  exposed 
was  that  of  a  rapid  and  determined  charge  of  cavalry.  To  provide 
in  some  degree  against  this,  each  archer  used  to  carry  a  wooden 
stake,  shod  with  iron  at  both  ends,  the  planting  of  which  before  him 
might  in  some  measure  afford  a  cover  from  horse.  They  had  also 
swords.  The  stakes,  however,  were  not  always  in  readiness,  nor 
were  they  always  found  effectual  for  the  purpose,  neither  were  their 
swords  an  adequate  protection  against  cavalry." 
1  TJie  castle  of  Front-de-Boeuf. 


THE,  SIEGE   OF  TORQUILSTONE.  93 

the  intensity  of  those  which,  at  more  tranquil  periods, 
our  prudence  at  least  conceals,  if  it  cannot  altogether  5 
suppress  them.  In  rinding  herself  once  more  by  the 
side  of  Ivanhoe,  Rebecca  was  astonished  at  the  keen 
sensation  of  pleasure  which  she  experienced,  even  at  a 
time  when  all  around  them  both  was  danger,  if  not  de- 
spair. As  she  felt  his  pulse  and  inquired  after  his  10 
health,  there  was  a  softness  in  her  touch  and  in  her  ac- 
cents, implying  a  kinder  interest  than  she  would  herself 
have  been  pleased  to  have  voluntarily  expressed.  Her 
voice  faltered  and  her  hand  trembled,  and  it  was  only 
the  cold  question  of  Ivanhoe,  "  Is  it  you,  gentle  maid- 15 
en?"  which  recalled  her  to  herself,  and  reminded  her 
the  sensations  which  she  felt  were  not  and  could  not  be 
mutual.  A  sigh  escaped,  but  it  was  scarce  audible; 
and  the  questions  which  she  asked  the  knight  concern- 
ing his  state  of  health  were  put  in  the  tone  of  calm  20 
friendship.  Ivanhoe  answered  her  hastily  that  he  was, 
in  point  of  health,  as  well,  and  better  than  he  could 
have  expected — "  Thanks,"  he  said,  "  dear  Rebecca,  to 
thy  helpful  skill." 

"  He  calls  me  dear  Rebecca,"  said  the  maiden  to  her-  25 
self,  "  but  it  is  in  the  cold  and  careless  tone  which  ill 
suits  the  word.     His  war-horse — his  hunting  hound,  are 
dearer  to  him  than  the  despised  Jewess  !" 

"My  mind,  gentle  maiden,"  continued  Ivanhoe,  "is 
more   disturbed  by  anxiety  than   my  body  with  pain.  3° 
From  the  speeches  of  these  men  who  were  my  warders 
just  now,  I  learn  that  I  am  a  prisoner,  and,  if  I  judge 
aright  of  the  loud,  hoarse  voice  which  even  now  de- 
spatched them  hence  on  some  military  duty,  I  am  in  the 
castle  of  Front-de-Boeuf.     If  so,  how  will  this  end,  or  how  35 
can  I  protect  Rowena  and  my  father?" 


g4  THE  SIEGE   OF  TORQUILSTONE. 

"  He  names  not  the  Jew  or  Jewess,"  said  Rebecca,  in- 
ternally;  "yet  what  is  our  portion  in  him,  and  how  justly 
am  I  punished  by  Heaven  for  letting  my  thoughts  dwell 
upon  him !"  She  hastened,  after  this  brief  self-accusa-  4° 
tion,  to  give  Ivanhoe  what  information  she  could ;  but  it 
amounted  only  to  this,  that  the  Templar  Bois-Guilbert 
and  the  Baron  Front-de-Boeuf  were  commanders  within 
the  castle  ;  that  it  was  beleaguered '  from  without,  but 
by  whom  she  knew  not.  45 

The  noise  within  the  castle,  occasioned  by  the  defen- 
sive preparations,  which  had  been  considerable  for  some 
time,  now  increased  into  tenfold  bustle  and  clamor. 
The  heavy  yet  hasty  step  of  the  men-at-arms  traversed 
the  battlements,  or  resounded  on  the  narrow  and  wind- 50 
ing  passages  and  stairs  which  led  to  the  various  barti- 
sans"  and  points  of  defence.  The  voices  of  the  knights 
were  heard,  animating  their  followers  or  directing  means 
of  defence,  while  their  commands  were  often  drowned  in 
the  clashing  of  armor  or  the  clamorous  shouts  of  those  55 
whom  they  addressed.  Tremendous  as  these  sounds 
were,  and  yet  more  terrible  from  the  awful  event  which 
they  presaged,  there  was  a  sublimity  mixed  with  them 
which  Rebecca's  high-toned  mind  could  feel  even  in 
that  moment  of  terror.  Her  eye  kindled,  although  the  fo 
blood  fled  from  her  cheeks ;  and  there  was  a  strong 
mixture  of  fear,  and  of  a  thrilling  sense  of  the  sublime, 
as  she  repeated,  half  whispering  to  herself,  half  speak- 
ing to  her  companion,  the  sacred  text,  "  The  quiver  rat- 
tleth* — the  glittering  spear  and  the  shield — the  noise  of  65 
the  captains  and  the  shouting!" 

But  Ivanhoe  was  like  the  war-horse  of  that  sublime 

1  Besieged.  2  Small  overhanging  turrets. 

3  See  yob,  xxxix.  23,  25. 


96  THE  SIEGE  OF  TORQUILSTONE. 

passage,  glowing  with  impatience  at  his  inactivity,  and 
with  his  ardent  desire  to  mingle  in  the  affray  of  which 
these  sounds  were  the  introduction.  "  If  I  could  but  70 
drag  myself,"  he  said,  "  to  yonder  window,  that  I  might 
see  how  this  brave  game  is  like  to  go — If  I  had  but  bow 
to  shoot  a  shaft,  or  battle-axe  to  strike  were  it  but  a 
single  blow  for  our  deliverance! — It  is  in  vain — it  is  in 
vain — I  am  alike  nerveless  and  weaponless!"  75 

"Fret  not  thyself,  noble  knight,"  answered  Rebecca, 
"  the  sounds  have  ceased  of  a  sudden — it  may  be  they 
join  not  battle." 

"Thou  knowest  nought  of  it,"  said  Wilfred,  impa- 
tiently ;  "  this  dead  pause  only  shows  that  the  men  are  &> 
at  their  posts  on  the  walls,  and  expecting  an  instant  at- 
tack ;  what  we  have  heard  was  but  the  distant  mutter- 
ing of  the  storm — it  will  burst  anon  in  all  its  fury. 
Could  I  but  reach  yonder  window !" 

"Thou  wilt  but  injure  thyself  by  the  attempt,  noble 85 
knight,"  replied  his  attendant.     Observing  his  extreme 
solicitude,  she  firmly  added,  "  I  myself  will  stand  at  the 
lattice,  and  describe  to  you  as  I  can  what  passes  without." 

"You  must  not — you  shall  not !"  exclaimed  Ivanhoe  ; 
"  each  lattice,  each  aperture,  will  be  soon  a  mark  for  the  9° 
archers  ;  some  random  shaft — " 

"  It  shall  be  welcome !"  murmured  Rebecca,  as  with 
firm  pace  she  ascended  two  or  three  steps  which  led  to 
the  window  of  which  they  spoke. 

"Rebecca,  dear  Rebecca!"  exclaimed  Ivanhoe,  "  this 95 
is  no  maiden's  pastime — do  not  expose  thyself  to  wounds 
and  death,  and  render  me  forever  miserable  for  having 
given  the  occasion  ;  at  least,  cover  thyself  with  yonder 
ancient  buckler,  and  show  as  little  of  your  person  at  the 
lattice  as  may  be."  100 


THE  SIEGE   OF   TORQUILSTONE.  97 

Following  with  wonderful  promptitude  the  directions 
of  Ivanhoe,  and  availing  herself  of  the  protection  of  the 
large  ancient  shield,  which  she  placed  against  the  lower 
part  of  the  window,  Rebecca,  with  tolerable  security  to 
herself,  could  witness  part  of  what  was  passing  without  105 
the  castle,  and  report  to  Ivanhoe  the  preparations  which 
the  assailants  were  making  for  the  storm.  Indeed,  the 
situation  which  she  thus  obtained  was  peculiarly  favor- 
able for  this  purpose,  because,  being  placed  on  an  angle 
of  the  main  building,  Rebecca  could  not  only  see  what  no 
passed  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  castle,  but  also  com- 
manded a  view  of  the  outwork  likely  to  be  the  first  ob- 
ject of  the  meditated  assault.  It  was  an  exterior  forti- 
fication of  no  great  height  or  strength,  intended  to  pro- 
tect the  postern-gate  *  through  which  Cedric  had  been  us 
recently  dismissed  by  Front-de-Bceuf.  The  castle-moat 
divided  this  species  of  barbican*  from  the  rest  of  the 
fortress,  so  that,  in  case  of  its  being  taken,  it  was  easy  to 
cut  off  the  communication  with  the  main  building  by 
withdrawing  the  temporary  bridge.  In  the  outwork  was  120 
a  sallyport3  corresponding  to  the  postern  of  the  castle, 
and  the  whole  was  surrounded  by  a  strong  palisade. 
Rebecca  could  observe,  from  the  number  of  men  placed 
for  the  defence  of  this  post,  that  the  besieged  entertained 
apprehensions  for  its  safety ;  and  from  the  mustering  of  125 
the  assailants  in  a  direction  nearly  opposite  to  the  out- 
work, it  seemed  no  less  plain  that  it  had  been  selected 
as  a  vulnerable  point  of  attack. 

These  appearances  she  hastily  communicated  to  Ivan- 
hoe, and  added,  "  The  skirts  of  the  wood  seem  lined  13° 

1  Small  back-gate.       *  The  defence  of  an  outer  gate  of  a  castle. 
3  A  gate  or  underground  passage  with  gates,  used  in  making  a 
sudden  sally  from  the  castle. 

7 


98  THE  SIEGE   OF  TORQUILSTONE. 

with  archers,  although  only  a  few  are  advanced  from  its 
dark  shadow." 

"  Under  what  banner  ?"  asked  Ivanhoe. 

"  Under  no  ensign  of  war  which  I  can  observe,"  an- 
swered Rebecca.  'ss 

"A  singular  novelty,"  muttered  the  knight,  "to  ad- 
vance to  storm  such  a  castle  without  pennon  or  ban- 
ner displayed! — Seest  thou  who  they  be  that  act  as 
leaders  ?" 

"  A  knight,  clad  in  sable  armor,  is  the  most  conspicu- 140 
ous,"  said  the  Jewess ;  "  he  alone  is  armed  from  head 
to  heel,  and  seems  to  assume  the  direction  of  all  around 
him." 

"What  device  does  he  bear  on  his  shield?"  replied 
Ivanhoe.  HS 

"  Something  resembling  a  bar  of  iron,  and  a  padlock 
painted  blue  on  the  black  shield." 

"  A  fetterlock1  and  shacklebolt"  azure,"  said  Ivanhoe  ; 
"  I  know  not  who  may  bear  the  device,  but  well  I  ween 
it  might  now  be  mine  own.     Canst  thou  not  see  the  «s<> 
motto?" 

"  Scarce  the  device  itself  at  this  distance,"  replied 
Rebecca ;  "  but  when  the  sun  glances  fair  upon  his 
shield,  it  shows  as  I  tell  you." 

"  Seem  there  no  other  leaders  ?"  exclaimed  the  anxious  'ss 
inquirer. 

"None  of  mark   and  distinction  that  I   can  behold 
from  this  station,"  said  Rebecca;  "but  doubtless  the 
other  side  of  the  castle  is  also  assailed.     They  appear 
even  now  preparing  to  advance  —  God  of  Zion  protect  '60 
us  ! — What  a  dreadful  sight ! — Those  who  advance  first 

1  Fetlock,  or  instrument  put  on  a  horse's  leg  to  prevent  running 
away.  a  Shackle,  or  fetter. 


THE  SIEGE    OF  TORQUILSTONE.  99 

bear  huge  shields  and  defences  made  of  plank  ;  the 
others  follow,  bending  their  bows  as  they  come  on. 
They  raise  their  bows ! — God  of  Moses,  forgive  the 
creatures  thou  hast  made  !"  165 

Her  description  was  here  suddenly  interrupted  by  the 
signal  for  assault,  which  was  given  by  the  blast  of  a  shrill 
bugle,  and  at  once  answered  by  a  flourish  of  the  Nor- 
man trumpets  from  the  battlements,  which,  mingled  with 
the  deep  and  hollow  clang  of  the  nakers  (a  species  of  170 
kettle-drum),  retorted  in  notes  of  defiance  the  challenge 
of  the  enemy.  The  shouts  of  both  parties  augmented 
the  fearful  din,  the  assailants  crying,  "  Saint  George  for 
merry  England !" '  and  the  Normans  answering  them 
with  cries  of  "En  avant"1  De  Bracy ! — £ 'eau- scant  ! '175 
Beau-seant ! — Front- de-Bczuf  a  la  rescousse  T  according 
to  the  war-cries  of  their  different  commanders. 

It  was  not,  however,  by  clamor  that  the  contest  was 
to  be  decided,  and  the  desperate  efforts  of  the  assailants 
were  met  by  an  equally  vigorous  defence  on  the  part  of  180 
the  besieged.  The  archers,  trained  by  their  woodland 
pastimes  to  the  most  effective  use  of  the  long-bow,  shot, 
to  use  the  appropriate  phrase  of  the  time,  so  "  wholiy 
together  "  that  no  point  at  which  a  defender  could  show 
the  least  part  of  his  person  escaped  their  cloth-yard  i8s 
shafts.3  By  this  heavy  discharge,  which  continued  as 
thick  and  sharp  as  hail,  while,  notwithstanding,  every 
arrow  had  its  individual  aim,  and  flew  by  scores  together 
against  each  embrasure*  and  opening  in  the  parapets,  as 

1  The  English  battle-cry. 

4  Forward  !   (French) ;    as  &  la  rescousse  !  is  To  the  rescue  ! 
s  Arrows  a  yard  long.     See  p.  92  (foot-note)  above. 
*  An  opening  in  a  wall  or  parapet  through  which  arrows  or  shot 
are  fired. 


loo  THE  SIEGE   OF  TORQUILSTONE. 

well  as  at  every  window  where  a  defender  either  occa-  igo 
sionally  had  post  or  might  be  suspected  to  be  stationed, 
— by  this  sustained  discharge  two  or  three  of  the  garrison 
were  slain  and  several  others  wounded.  But,  confi- 
dent in  their  armor  of  proof,1  and  in  the  cover  which 
their  situation  afforded,  the  followers  of  Front-de-Bceuf  195 
and  his  allies  showed  an  obstinacy  in  defence  propor- 
tioned to  the  fury  of  the  attack,  and  replied  with  the 
discharge  of  their  large  cross-bows,  as  well  as  with  their 
long-bows,  slings,  and  other  missile  weapons,  to  the  close 
and  continued  shower  of  arrows  ;  and,  as  the  assailants  2°° 
were  necessarily  but  indifferently  protected,  did  occa- 
sionally more  damage  than  they  received  at  their  hand. 
The  whizzing  of  shafts  and  of  missiles  on  both  sides  was 
only  interruped  by  the  shouts  which  arose  when  either 
side  inflicted  or  sustained  some  notable  loss.  205 

"And  I  must  lie  here  like  a  bedridden -monk,"  ex- 
claimed Ivanhoe,  "  while  the  game  that  gives  me  freedom 
or  death  is  played  out  by  the  hand  of  others ! — Look 
from  the  window  once  again,  kind  maiden,  but  beware 
that  you  are  not  marked  by  the  archers  beneath.— Look  210 
out  once  more,  and  tell  me  if  they  yet  advance  to  the 
storm." 

With   patient   courage,  strengthened  by  the    interval 
which  she  had  employed  in  mental  devotion,  Rebecca 
again  took  post  at  the  lattice,  sheltering  herself,  however,  215 
so  as  not  to  be  visible  from  beneath. 

"  What  dost  thou  see,  Rebecca  ?"  again  demanded  the 
wounded  knight. 

"  Nothing  but  the  cloud  of  arrows  flying  so  thick  as 
to  dazzle  mine  eyes  and  to  hide  the  bowmen  who  shoot  2*° 
them." 

1  Impenetrability,  or  power  of  resistance  in  armor. 


THE  SIEGE   OF  TORQUILSTONE:  IQI 

"That  cannot  endure,"  said  Ivanhoe  ;" if  they  press 
not  right  on  to  carry  the  castle  by  pure  force  of  arms, 
the  archery  may  avail  but  little  against  stone  walls  and 
bulwarks.  Look  for  the  Knight  of  the  Fetterlock,  fair  225 
Rebecca,  and  see  how  he  bears  himself;  for  as  the 
leader  is,  so  will  his  followers  be." 

"  1  see  him  not,"  said  Rebecca. 

"Foul  craven  !"  exclaimed  Ivanhoe;  "does  he  blench 
from  the  helm  when  the  wind  blows  highest?"  230 

"  He  blenches  not !  he  blenches  not !"  said  Rebecca, 
"  I  see  him  now ;  he  leads  a  body  of  men  close  under 
the  outer  barrier 1  of  the  barbican. — They  pull  down  the 
piles  and  palisades ;  they  hew  down  the  barriers  with 
axes. — His  high  black  plume  floats  abroad  over  the  235 
throng,  like  a  raven  over  the  field  of  the  slain.  They 
have  made  a  breach  in  the  barriers — they  rush  in — they 
are  thrust  back! — Front-de-Bceuf  heads  the  defenders; 
I  see  his  gigantic  form  above  the  press.  They  throng 
again  to  the  breach,  and  the  pass  is  disputed  hand  to  24° 
hand  and  man  to  man.  God  of  Jacob !  it  is  the  meet- 
ing of  two  fierce  tides — the  conflict  of  two  oceans  moved 
by  adverse  winds  !" 

She  turned  her  head  from  the  lattice,  as  if  unable 
longer  to  endure  a  sight  so  terrible.  245 

"  Look  forth  again,  Rebecca,"  said  Ivanhoe,  mistaking 
the  cause  of  her  retiring;  "the  archery  must  in  some  de- 
gree have  ceased,  since  they  are  now  fighting  hand  to 
hand.  Look  again,  there  is  now  less  danger." 

1  "  Every  Gothic  castle  and  city  had,  beyond  the  outer  walls,  a 
fortification  composed  of  palisades,  called  the  barriers,  which  were 
often  the  scene  of  severe  skirmishes,  as  these  must  necessarily 
be  carried  before  the  walls  themselves  could  be  approached  " 
(Scott). 


102  THE  SIEGE   OF  TORQUILSTONE. 

Rebecca  again  looked  forth,  and  almost  immediate- 250 
ly  exclaimed,   "  Holy  prophets  of  the  law !    Front-de- 
Boeuf  and  the  Black  Knight  fight  hand  to  hand  on  the 
breach,  amid  the  roar  of  their  followers,  who  watch  the 
progress  of  the  strife  —  Heaven  strike  with  the  cause  of 
the  oppressed  and  of  the  captive  !"     She  then  uttered  255 
a  loud  shriek,  and  exclaimed,  "  He  is  down !  —  he  is 
down  !" 

"  Who  is  down?"  cried  Ivanhoe  ;  "  for  our  dear  Lady's 
sake,  tell  me  which  has  fallen  ?" 

"  The  Black  Knight,"  answered  Rebecca,  faintly  ;  then  260 
instantly  again  shouted  with  joyful  eagerness — "  But  no 
— but  no ! — the  name  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts  be  blessed  ! 
— he  is  on  fpot  again,  and  fights  as  if  there  were  twenty 
men's  strength  in  his  single  arm.     His  sword  is  broken 
— he  snatches  an  axe  from  a  yeoman — he  presses  Front-  265 
de-Bceuf  with  blow  on  blow.     The  giant  stoops  and  tot- 
ters like  an  oak  under  the  steel  of  the  woodman — he  falls 
—he  falls !" 

"  Front-de-Bceuf  ?"  exclaimed  Ivanhoe. 

"Front-de-Bceuf !"  answered    the   Jewess  ;"  his   men  370 
rush  to  the  rescue,  headed  by  the  haughty  Templar — 
their  united   force  compels  the  champion   to  pause. — 
They  drag  Front-de-Bceuf  within  the  walls." 

"  The  assailants  have  won  the  barriers,  have  they  not  ?" 
said  Ivanhoe.  275 

"They  have — they  have!"  exclaimed  Rebecca,  "and 
they  press  the  besieged  hard  upon  the  outer  wall ;  some 
plant  ladders,  some  swarm  like  bees,  and  endeavor  to 
ascend  upon  the  shoulders  of  each  other  —  down  go 
stones,  beams,  and  trunks  of  trees  upon  their  heads,  and  280 
as  fast  as  they  bear  the  wounded  to  the  rear,  fresh  men 
supply  their  places  in  the  assault — Great  God !  hast  thou 


THE  SIEGE   OF  TORQUILSTONE.  103 

given  men  thine  own  image,  that  it  should  be  thus  cru- 
elly defaced  by  the  hands  of  their  brethren  !" 

"  Think  not  of  that,"  said  Ivanhoe  ;  "  this  is  no  time  285 
for  such  thoughts — Who  yield  ? — who  push  their  way  ?" 

"  The  ladders  are  thrown  down,"  replied  Rebecca, 
shuddering  ;  "  the  soldiers  lie  grovelling  under  them  like 
crushed  reptiles — the  besieged  have  the  better." 

"  Saint  George  strike  for  us !"  exclaimed  the  knight ;  29° 
"  do  the  false  yeomen  give  way  ?" 

"No!"  exclaimed  Rebecca,  "they  bear  themselves 
right  yeomanly — the  Black  Knight  approaches  the  post- 
ern with  his  huge  axe — the  thundering  blows  which  he 
deals,  you  may  hear  them  above  all  the  din  and  shouts  295 
of  the  battle — Stones  and  beams  are  hailed  down  on  the 
bold  champion — he  regards  them  no  more  than  if  they 
were  thistle-down  or  feathers  !" 

"  By   Saint    John   of  Acre," '   said    Ivanhoe,  raising 
himself  joyfully  on  his   couch,  "  methought  there  was  3°° 
but  one  man  in  England  that  might  do  such  a  deed !" 

"The  postern-gate  shakes,"  continued  Rebecca;  "it 
crashes — it  is  splintered  by  his  blows — they  rush  in — the 
outwork  is  won — O  God  ! — they  hurl  the  defenders  from 
the  battlements — they  throw  them  into  the  moat  —  O  3°s 
men,  if  ye  be  indeed  men,  spare  them  that  can  resist 
no  longer !" 

"  The  bridge — the  bridge  which  communicates  with  the 
castle — have  they  won  that  pass  ?"  exclaimed  Ivanhoe. 

"  No,"  replied  Rebecca,  "  the  Templar  has  destroyed  31° 
the  plank  on  which  they  crossed — few  of  the  defenders 
escaped  with  him  into  the  castle — the  shrieks  and  cries 

1  The  full  name  of  this  Syrian  seaport  is  St.  Jean  d'Acre,  or  St. 
John  of  Acre.  In  the  time  of  the  Crusaders  it  became  their  chief 
landing-place  and  the  seat  of  the  Order  of  St.  John. 


I04  THE  SIEGE   OF  TORQUILSTONE. 

which  you  hear  tell  the  fate  of  the  others — Alas !  I  see 
it  is  still  more  difficult  to  look  upon  victory  than  upon 
battle."  315 

"  What  do  they  now,  maiden  ?"  said  Ivanhoe ;  "  look 
forth  yet  again — this  is  no  time  to  faint  at  bloodshed." 

"  It  is  over  for  the  time,"  answered  Rebecca ;  "  our 
friends  strengthen  themselves  within  the  outwork  which 
they  have  mastered,  and  it  affords  them  so  good  a  shel-  320 
ter  from  the  foemen's  shot  that  the  garrison  only  be- 
stow a  few  bolts  on  it  from  interval  to  interval,  as  if 
rather  to  disquiet  than  effectually  to  injure  them." 

"Our  friends,"  said  Wilfred,  "will  surely  not  abandon 
an   enterprise  so  gloriously  begun   and  so  happily  at-  3*5 
tained — O  no !  I  will  put  my  faith  .in  the  good  knight 
whose  axe  hath  rent  heart-of-oak  and  bars  of  iron. — Sin- 
gular," he  again  muttered  to  himself,  "if  there  be  two 
who  can  do  a  deed  of  such  derring-do!1 — a  fetterlock 
and   a   shacklebolt  on   a   field -sable  —  what  may  that  33° 
mean  ? — seest  thou  nought  else,  Rebecca,  by  which  the 
Black  Knight  may  be  distinguished  ?" 

"  Nothing,"  said  the  Jewess  ;  "  all  about  him  is  black 
as  the  wing  of  the  night-raven.  Nothing  can  I  spy  that 
can  mark  him  farther — but  having  once  seen  him  put  335 
forth  his  strength  in  battle,  methinks  I  could  know  him 
again  among  a  thousand  warriors.  He  rushes  to  the 
fray  as  if  he  were  summoned  to  a  banquet.  There  is 
more  than  mere  strength,  there  seems  as  if  the  whole 
soul  and  spirit  of  the  champion  were  given  to  every  blow  34° 
which  he  deals  upon  his  enemies.  God  assoilzie"  him 
of  the  sin  of  bloodshed  ! — it  is  fearful,  yet  magnificent, 
to  behold  how  the  arm  and  heart  of  one  man  can  tri- 
umph over  hundreds." 

1  Desperate  courage.  3  Assoil,  or  absolve. 


THE  SIEGE   OF  TORQUILSTONE.  105 

" Rebecca," said  Ivanhoe,  "  thou  hast  painted  a  hero; 345 
surely  they  rest  but  to  refresh  their  force,  or  to  provide 
the  means  for  crossing  the  moat.     Under  such  a  leader 
as  thou  hast  spoken  this  knight  to  be,  there  are  no  craven 
fears,  no  cold-blooded  delays,  no  yielding  up  a  gallant 
emprize,1  since  the  difficulties  which  render  it  arduous  35° 
render  it  also  glorious.     I  swear  by  the  honor  of  my 
house — I  vow  by  the  name  of  my  bright  lady-love,  I 
would  endure   ten  years'  captivity  to  fight  one  day  by 
that  good  knight's  side  in  such  a  quarrel  as  this!" 

"  Alas  !"  said  Rebecca,  leaving  her  station  at  the  win-  ass 
dow,  and  approaching  the  couch  of  the  wounded  knight, 
"  this  impatient  yearning  after  action — this   struggling 
with  and  repining  at  your  present  weakness,  will  not  fail 
to  injure  your  returning  health.     How  couldst  thou  hope 
to  inflict  wounds  on  others  ere  that  be  healed  which  thou  360 
thyself  hast  received  ?" 

"  Rebecca,"  he  replied,  "  thou  knowest  not  how  impos- 
sible it  is  for  one  trained  to  actions  of  chivalry  to  remain 
passive  as  a  priest  or  a  woman  when  they  are  acting 
deeds  of  honor  around  him.  The  love  of  battle  is  the  365 
food  upon  which  we  live — the  dust  of  the  melee  is  the 
breath  of  our  nostrils !  We  live  not — we  wish  not  to 
live  longer  than  while  we  are  victorious  and  renowned. 
Such,  maiden,  are  the  laws  of  chivalry  to  which  we  are 
sworn,  and  to  which  we  offer  all  that  we  hold  dear."  37° 

"  Alas  !"  said  the  fair  Jewess,  "  and  what  is  it,  valiant 
knight,  save  an  offering  of  sacrifice  to  a  demon  of  vain- 
glory, and  a  passing  through  the  fire  to  Moloch  ?a  What 
remains  to  you  as  the  prize  of  all  the  blood  you  have 
spilled — of  all  the  travail  and  pain  you  have  endured — 375 

1  Enterprise. 

3  See  Leviticus,  xviii.  21,  2  Kings,  xxiii.  10,  etc. 


106  THE  SIEGE   OF  TORQUILSTONE. 

of  all  the  tears  which  your  deeds  have  caused,  when 
death  hath  broken  the  strong  man's  spear,  and  overtaken 
the  speed  of  his  war-horse  ?" 

"  What  remains  ?"  cried  Ivanhoe.     "  Glory,  maiden, 
glory !  which  gilds  our  sepulchre  and  embalms  our  name."  380 

"Glory?"  continued  Rebecca.  "Alas!  is  the  rusted 
mail  which  hangs  as  a  hatchment ]  over  the  champion's 
dim  and  mouldering  tomb — is  the  defaced  sculpture  of 
the  inscription  which  the  ignorant  monk  can  hardly  read 
to  the  inquiring  pilgrim — are  these  sufficient  rewards  forays 
the  sacrifice  of  every  kindly  affection,  for  a  life  spent 
miserably  that  ye  may  make  others  miserable?  Or  is 
there  such  virtue  in  the  rude  rhymes  of  a  wandering 
bard  that  domestic  love,  kindly  affection,  peace  and 
happiness,  are  so  wildly  bartered,  to  become  the  hero  of  39° 
those  ballads  which  vagabond  minstrels  sing  to  drunken 
churls  over  their  evening  ale  ?" 

"  By  the  soul  of  Hereward  !"  replied  the  knight  impa- 
tiently, "  thou  speakest,  maiden,  of  thou  knoWest  not 
what.  Thou  wouldst  quench  the  pure  light  of  chivalry,  395 
which  alone  distinguishes  the  noble  from  the  base,  the 
gentle  knight  from  the  churl  and  the  savage ;  which 
rates  our  life  far,  far  beneath  the  pitch  of  our  honor, 
raises  us  victorious  over  pain,  toil,  and  suffering,  and 
teaches  us  to  fear  no  evil  but  disgrace.  Thou  art  no  4°° 
Christian,  Rebecca  ;  and  to  thee  are  unknown  those  high 
feelings  which  swell  the  bosom  of  a  noble  maiden  when 
her  lover  hath  done  some  deed  of  emprize  which  sanc- 
tions his  flame.  Chivalry  ! — why,  maiden,  she  is  the 
nurse  of  pure  and  high  affection — the  stay  of  the  op-4°s 
pressed,  the  redresser  of  grievances,  the  curb  of  the 
power  of  the  tyrant.  Nobility  were  but  an  empty  name 
1  A  funereal  coat-of-arms. 


THE  SIEGE   OF  TORQUILSTONE.  107 

without  her,  and  liberty  finds  the  best  protection  in  her 
lance  and  her  sword." 

"  I  am,  indeed,"  said  Rebecca,  "  sprung  from  a  race  41° 
whose  courage  was  distinguished  in  the  defence  of  their 
own  land,  but  who  warred  not,  even  while  yet  a  nation, 
save  at  the  command  of  the  Deity,  or  in  defending  their 
country  from  oppression.  The  sound  of  the  trumpet 
wakes  Judah  no  longer,  and  her  despised  children  are  415 
now  but  the  unresisting  victims  of  hostile  and  military 
oppression.  Well  hast  thou  spoken,  sir  knight, — until 
the  God  of  Jacob  shall  raise  up  for  his  chosen  people  a 
second  Gideon  '  or  a  new  Maccabeus,2  it  ill  beseemeth 
the  Jewish  damsel  to  speak  of  battle  or  of  war."  42° 

The  high-minded  maiden  concluded  the  argument  in 
a  tone  of  sorrow,  which  deeply  expressed  her  sense  of 
the  degradation  of  her  people,  embittered  perhaps  by 
the  idea  that  Ivanhoe  considered  her  as  one  not  en- 
titled to  interfere  in  a  case  of  honor,  and  incapable  of  425 
entertaining  or  expressing  sentiments  of  honor  and  gen- 
erosity. 

"  How  little  he  knows  this  bosom,"  she  said,  "  to  im- 
agine that  cowardice  or  meanness  of  soul  must  needs  be 
its  guests,  because  I  have  censured  the  fantastic  chivalry  43° 
of  the  Nazarenes  !     Would  to  Heaven  that  the  shedding 
of  mine  own  blood,  drop  by  drop,  could  redeem  the  cap- 
tivity of  Judah  !     Nay,  would  to  God  it  could  avail  to  set 
free  my  father,  and  this  his  benefactor,  from  the  chains 
of  the  oppressor  !     The  proud  Christian  should  then  see  435 
whether  the  daughter  of  God's  chosen  people  dared  not 
to  die  as  bravely  as  the  vainest  Nazarene  maiden,  that 

1  See  Judges,  vi.-viii. 

2  Judah  Maccabeus,  who  reconquered  Jerusalem,  purified  the  tem- 
ple, and  restored  the  ancient  service  (164  B.C.). 


I08  THE  SIEGE   OF  TORQUILSTONE. 

boasts  her  descent  from  some  petty  chieftain  of  the  rude 
and  frozen  north  !" 

She  then  looked  towards  the  couch  of  the  wounded  44° 
knight. 

"  He  sleeps,"  she  said  ;  "  nature  exhausted  by  suffer- 
ance and  the  waste  of  spirits,  his  wearied  frame  embraces 
the  first  moment  of  temporary  relaxation  to  sink  into 
slumber.  Alas!  is  it  a  crime  that  I  should  look  upon 445 
him,  when  it  may  be  for  the  last  time  ? — when  yet  but 
a  short  space,  and  those  fair  features  will  be  no  longer 
animated  by  the  bold  and  buoyant  spirit  which  forsakes 
them  not  even  in  sleep  ! — when  the  nostril  shall  be  dis- 
tended, the  mouth  agape,  the  eyes  fixed  and  bloodshot ;  45° 
and  when  the  proud  and  noble  knight  may  be  trodden 
on  by  the  lowest  caitiff  of  this  accursed  castle,  yet  stir 
not  when  the  heel  is  lifted  up  against  him  ! — And  my 
father  ! — oh,  my  father  !  evil  is  it  with  his  daughter,  when 
his  gray  hairs  are  not  remembered  because  of  the  golden  455 
locks  of  youth  ! — What  know  I  but  that  these  evils  are 
the  messengers  of  Jehovah's  wrath  to  the  unnatural  child 
who  thinks  of  a  stranger's  captivity  before  a  parent's  ? 
who  forgets  the  desolation  of  Judah,  and  looks  upon  the 
comeliness  of  a  Gentile  and  a  stranger? — But  I  will  tear  460 
this  folly  from  my  heart,  though  every  fibre  bleed  as  I 
rend  it  away !" 

She  wrapped  herself  closely  in  her  veil,  and  sat  down 
at  a  distance  from  the  couch  of  the  wounded  knight,  with 
her  back  turned  towards  it,  fortifying,  or  endeavoring  10465 
fortify  her  mind,  not  only  against  the  impending  evils 
from  without,  but  also  against  those  treacherous  feelings 
which  assailed  her  from  within. 

At  this  moment  the  besiegers  caught  sight  of  the  red 
flag  upon  the  angle  of  the  tower.     The  good  yeoman  47° 


THE  SIEGE  OF  TORQUILSTONE.  109 

Locksley  was  the  first  who  was  aware  of  it,  as  he  was 
hasting  to  the  outwork,  impatient  to  see  the  progress  of 
the  assault. 

"  Saint  George  !"  he  cried,  "  Merry  Saint  George  for 
England  ! — To  the  charge,  bold  yeomen  ! — why  leave  ye  475 
the  good  knight  and   noble  Cedric  to  storm   the  pass 
alone  ? — make  in,1  mad  priest,  show  thou  canst  fight  for 
thy  rosary, — make  in,  brave  yeomen  ! — the  castle  is  ours, 
we  have  friends  within — See  yonder  flag,  it  is  the  ap- 
pointed signal — Torquilstone  is  ours!     Think  of  honor, 48o 
think  of  spoil — One  effort,  and  the  place  is  ours!" 

With  that  he  bent  his  good  bow,  and  sent  a  shaft  right 
through  the  breast  of  one  of  the  men-at-arms,  who,  under 
De  Bracy's  direction,  was  loosening  a  fragment  from 
one  of  the  battlements  to  precipitate  on  the  heads  of  485 
Cedric  and  the  Black  Knight.  A  second  soldier  caught 
from  the  hands  of  the  dying  man  the  iron  crow,  with 
which  he  heaved  at  and  had  loosened  the  stone  pinna- 
cle, when,  receiving  an  arrow  through  his  head-piece,  he 
dropped  from  the  battlements  into  the  moat  a  dead  man.  490 
The  men-at-arms  were  daunted,  for  no  armor  seemed 
proof  against  the  shot  of  this  tremendous  archer. 

"  Do  you  give  ground,  base  knaves  P  said  De  Bracy ; 
"Mount  joye,  Saint  Denis  /" — Give  me  the  lever." 

And,  snatching  it  up,  he  again  assailed  the  loosened  495 
pinnacle,  which  was  of  weight  enough,  if  thrown  down, 
not  only  to  have  destroyed  the  remnant  of  the  draw- 
bridge, which  sheltered  the  two  foremost  assailants,  but 
also  to  have  sunk  the  rude  float  of  planks  over  which 

1  Advance;  make  being  used  as  in  make  for  a  place,  make  tow- 
ards it,  etc. 

3  The  patron  saint  of  France,  whose  name  was  the  national  war- 
cry. 


HO  THE  SIEGE   OF  TORQUILSTONE. 

they  had  crossed.     All  saw  the  danger,  and  the  boldest,  s°° 
even  the  stout  friar  himself,  avoided  setting  foot  on  the 
raft.     Thrice  did  Locksley  bend  his  shaft  against  De 
Bracy,  and  thrice  did  his  arrow  bound  back  from  the 
knight's  armor  of  proof.     He  then  began  to  call  out, 
"  Comrades  !  friends  !  noble  Cedric  !  bear  back,  and  let  s°s 
the  ruin  fall." 

His  warning  voice  was  unheard,  for  the  din  which  the 
knight  himself  occasioned  by  his  strokes  upon  the  post- 
ern would   have   drowned    twenty  war-trumpets.      The 
faithful  Gurth  indeed  sprung  forward  on  the  planked  51° 
bridge,  to  warn  Cedric  of  his  impending  fate,  or  to  share 
it  with  him.     But  his  warning  would  have  come  too  late  ; 
the  massive  pinnacle  already  tottered,  and  De  Bracy, 
who  still  heaved  at  his  task,  would  have  accomplished 
it,  had  not  the  voice  of  the  Templar  sounded  close  in  5*5 
his  ear. 

"  All  is  lost,  De  Bracy,  the  castle  burns." 

"Thou  art  mad  to  say  so !"  replied  the  knight. 

"It  is  all  in  a  light  flame  on  the  western  side.  I  have 
striven  in  vain  to  extinguish  it."  520 

With  the  stern  coolness  which  formed  the  basis  of  his 
character,  Brian  de  Bois  -  Guilbert  communicated  this 
hideous  intelligence,  which  was  not  so  calmly  received 
by  his  astonished  comrade. 

"  Saints  of  Paradise  !"  said  De  Bracy  ;  "  what  is  to  be  s*5 
done?     I  vow  to  Saint  Nicolas  of  Limoges1  a  candle- 
stick of  pure  gold — " 

"  Spare  thy  vow,"  said  the  Templar,  "  and  mark  me. 
Lead  thy  men  down,  as  if  to  a  sally;  throw  the  postern- 
gate  open  —  there  are  but  two  men   who   occupy   the  53° 
float;  fling  them  into  the  moat  and  push  across  for  the 
1  An  old  city  in  France. 


THE  SIEGE   OF  TORQUILSTONE.  m 

barbican.     I  will  charge  from  the  main  gate,  and  attack 
the   barbican    on   the  outside ;    and  if  we   can  regain 
that  post,  be   assured  we  shall  defend  ourselves  until 
we  are  relieved,  or  at  least  till  they  grant  us  fair  quar-sss 
ter." 

De  Bracy  hastily  drew  his  men  together,  and  rushed 
down  to  the  postern-gate,  which  he  caused  instantly 
to  be  thrown  open.  But  scarce  was  this  done  ere  the 
portentous  strength  of  the  Black  Knight  forced  his  540 
way  inward  in  despite  of  De  Bracy  and  his  followers. 
Two  of  the  foremost  instantly  fell,  and  the  rest  gave 
way,  notwithstanding  all  their  leader's  efforts  to  stop 
them. 

^Dogs  !"  said  De  Bracy,  "  will  ye  let  two  men  win  our  545 
only  pass  for  safety  ?     The  castle  burns  behind  us,  vil- 
lains ! — let  despair  give  you  courage,  or  let  me  forward, 
I  will  cope  with  this  champion  myself." 

And  well  and  chivalrous  did  De  Bracy  that  day  main- 
tain the  fame  he  had  acquired  in  the  civil  wars  of  that  sso 
dreadful  period.  The  vaulted  passage  to  which  the  pos- 
tern gave  entrance,  and  in  which  these  two  redoubted 
champions  were  now  fighting  hand  to  hand,  rung  with 
the  furious  blows  which  they  dealt  each  other,  De  Bracy 
with  his  sword,  the  Black  Knight  with  his  ponderous  axe.  sss 
At  length  the  Norman  received  a  blow  which,  though  its 
force  was  partly  parried  by  his  shield,  for  otherwise  never 
more  would  De  Bracy  have  again  moved  limb,  descended 
yet  with  such  violence  on  his  crest  that  he  measured  his 
length  on  the  paved  floor.  560 

"  Yield  thee,  De  Bracy,"  said  the  Black  Champion, 
stooping  over  him,  and  holding  against  the  bars  of  his 
helmet  the  fatal  poniard  with  which  the  knights  de- 
spatched their  enemies — and  which  was  called  the  Dag- 


112  THE  SIEGE  OF  TORQUILSTONE. 

ger  of  Mercy — "  yield  thee,  Maurice  de  Bracy,  rescue  or  565 
no  rescue,  or  thou  art  but  a  dead  man." 

"  I  will  not  yield,"  replied  De  Bracy,  faintly,  "  to  an 
unknown  conqueror.  Tell  me  thy  name,  or  work  thy 
pleasure  on  me — it  shall  never  be  said  that  Maurice  de 
Bracy  was  prisoner  to  a  nameless  churl."  57° 

The  Black  Knight  whispered  something  into  the  ear 
of  the  vanquished. 

"  I  yield  me  to  be  true  prisoner,  rescue  or  no  rescue," 
answered  the  Norman,  exchanging  his  tone  of  stern  and 
determined  obstinacy  for  one  of  deep  though  sullen  sub-  575 
mission. 

"  Go  to  the  barbican,"  said  the  victor,  in  a  tone  o: 
authority,  "  and  there  wait  my  farther  orders." 

"  Yet  first  let  me  say,"  said  De  Bracy,  "  what  it  im- 
ports thee  to  know.    Wilfred  of  Ivanhoe  is  wounded  and  580 
a  prisoner,  and  will  perish  in  the  burning  castle  without 
present  help." 

"Wilfred  of  Ivanhoe!"  exclaimed  the  Black  Knight, 
"  prisoner  and  perish  !     The  life  of  every  man  in  the 
castle  shall  answer  it  if  a  hair  of  his  head  be  singed.  385 
Show  me  his  chamber !" 

"  Ascend  yonder  winding-stair,"  said  De  Bracy  ;  "  it 
leads  to  his  apartment.  Wilt  thou  not  accept  my  guid- 
ance ?"  he  added,  in  a  submissive  voice. 

"  No.     To  the  barbican,  and  there  wait  my  orders.    1 590 
trust  thee  not,  De  Bracy." 

During  this  combat  and  the  brief  conversation  which 
ensued,  Cedric,  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  men,  among 
whom  the  friar  was  conspicuous,  had  pushed  across  the 
bridge  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  postern  open,  and  drove  595 
back  the  dispirited  and  despairing  followers  of  De  Bracy, 
of  whom  some  asked  quarter,  some  offered  vain  resist- 


THE  SIEGE   OF   TORQUILSTONE.  II3 

ance,  and  the  greater  part  fled  towards  the  courtyard. 
De  Bracy  himself  arose  from  the  ground,  and  cast  a  sor- 
rowful glance  after  his  conqueror.  "  He  trusts  me  not,"  600 
he  repeated ;  "  but  have  I  deserved  his  trust  ?"  He  then 
lifted  his  sword  from  the  floor,  took  off  his  helmet  in 
token  of  submission,  and,  going  to  the  barbican,  gave  up 
his  sword  to  Locksley,  whom  he  met  by  the  way. 

As  the  fire  augmented,  symptoms  of  it  became  soon  605 
apparent  in  the  chamber  where  Ivanhoe  was  watched, 
and   tended  by  the  Jewess   Rebecca.      He   had  been 
awakened  from  his  brief  slumber  by  the  noise  of  the 
battle ;  and  his  attendant,  who  had  at  his  anxious  de- 
sire again  placed  herself  at  the  window  to  watch  andeio 
report  to  him  the  fate  of  the  attack,  was  for  some  time 
prevented  from  observing  either,  by  the  increase  of  the 
smouldering  and  stifling  vapor.     At  length  the  volumes 
of  smoke  which  rolled  into  the  apartment,  the  cries  for 
water  which  were   heard   even   above  the   din   of  the  615 
battle,  made  them  sensible  of  the  progress  of  this  new 
danger. 

"  The  castle  burns,"  said  Rebecca  ;  "  it  burns  !  What 
can  we  do  to  save  ourselves  ?" 

"  Fly,  Rebecca,  and  save  thine  own  life,"  said  Ivanhoe,  620 
"for  no  human  aid  can  avail  me." 

"  I  will  not  fly,"  answered  Rebecca ;  "we  will  be  saved 
or  perish  together.  And  yet,  great  God ! — my  father,  my 
father ! — what  will  be  his  fate  ?" 

At  this  moment  the  door  of  the  apartment  flew  open,  625 
and  the  Templar  presented  himself — a  ghastly  figure,  for 
his  gilded  armor  was  broken  and  bloody,  and  the  plume 
was  partly  shorn  away,  partly  burned  from  his  casque. 
"  I  have  found  thee,"  said  he  to  Rebecca ;  "  thou  shalt 
prove  I  will  keep  my  word  to  share  weal  and  woe  withe3o 


II4  THE  SIEGE   OP  TORQUILSTONE. 

thee.  There  is  but  one  path  to  safety;  I  have  cut  my 
way  through  fifty  dangers  to  point  it  to  thee — up,  and 
instantly  follow  me." 

"  Alone,"  answered  Rebecca,  "  I  will  not  follow  thee. 
If  thou  wert  born  of  woman — if  thou  hast  but  a  touch  of  635 
human  charity  in  thee — if  thy  heart  be  not  hard  as  thy 
breastplate — save  my  aged  father — save  this  wounded 
knight!" 

"  A  knight,"  answered  the  Templar,  with  his  charac- 
teristic  calmness,  "a  knight,  Rebecca,  must  encounter 64o 
his  fate,  whether  it  meet  him  in  the  shape  of  sword  or 
flame — and  who  recks  how  or  where  a  Jew  meets  with 
his  ?" 

"  Savage  warrior,"  said  Rebecca,  "rather  will  I  perish 
in  the  flames  than  accept  safety  from  thee !"  645 

"Thou  shalt  not  choose,  Rebecca — once  didst  thou 
foil  me,  but  never  mortal  did  so  twice." 

So  saying,  he  seized  on  the  terrified  maiden,  who 
filled  the  air  with  her  shrieks,  and  bore  her  out  of  the 
room  in  his  arms  in  spite  of  her  cries,  and  without  re-  650 
garding  the  menaces  and  defiance  which  Ivanhoe  thun- 
dered against  him.  "  Hound  of  the  Temple — stain  to 
thine  order — set  free  the  damsel !  Traitor  of  Bois-Guil- 
bert,  it  is  Ivanhoe  commands  thee  !  Villain,  I  will  have 
thy  heart's  blood  !"  6S5 

"I  had  not  found  thee,  Wilfred,"  said  the  Black 
Knight,  who  at  that  instant  entered  the  apartment,  "  but 
for  thy  shouts." 

"  If  thou  be'st  a  true  knight,"  said  Wilfred,  "  think  not 
of  me — pursue  yon  ravisher — save  the  Lady  Rowena — 6<*> 
look  to  the  noble  Cedric !" 

"  In  their  turn,"  answered  he  of  the  fetterlock,  "  but 
thine  is  first." 


THE  SIEGE   OF   TORQUILSTONE.  115 

And  seizing  upon  Ivanhoe,  he  bore  him  off  with  as 
much  ease  as  the  Templar  had  carried  off  Rebecca,  665 
rushed  with  him  to  the  postern,  and  having  there  de- 
livered his  burden  to  the  care  of  two  yeomen,  he  again 
entered  the  castle  to  assist  in  the  rescue  of  the  other 
prisoners. 

One  turret  was  now  in  bright  flames,  which  flashed  67° 
out  furiously  from  window  and  shot-hole.     But  in  other 
parts  the  great   thickness  of  the  walls  and  the  vaulted 
roofs  of  the  apartments    resisted   the  progress  of  the 
flames,  and  there  the  rage  of  man  still  triumphed,  as  the 
scarce  more  dreadful  element  held  mastery  elsewhere  5675 
for  the  besiegers  pursued  the  defenders  of  the  castle  from 
chamber  to  chamber,  and  satiated  in  their  blood  the  ven- 
geance which  had  long  animated  them  against  the  sol- 
diers of  the  tyrant  Front-de-Boeuf. 


THE  TRIAL  OF  REBECCA  THE  JEWESS. 

THE  Grand-Master1  commanded  Rebecca  to  unveil 
herself.  Opening  her  lips  for  the  first  time,  she  replied 
patiently,  but  with  dignity,  that  it  was  not  the  wont  of 
the  daughters  of  her  people  to  uncover  their  faces  when 
alone  in  an  assembly  of  strangers.  The  sweet  tones  of  s 
her  voice,  and  the  softness  of  her  reply,  impressed  on  the 
audience  a  sentiment  of  pity  and  sympathy.  But  Beau- 
manoir,  in  whose  mind  the  suppression  of  each  feeling 
of  humanity  which  could  interfere  with  his  imagined  duty 
was  a  virtue  of  itself,  repeated  his  commands  that  his  «> 
victim  should  be  unveiled.  The  guards  were  about  to 
remove  her  veil  accordingly,  when  she  stood  up  before 
the  Grand-Master  and  said,  "  Nay,  but  for  the  love  of 
your  own  daughters —  Alas,"  she  said,  recollecting  her- 
self, "  ye  have  no  daughters ! — yet  for  the  remembrance  »5 
of  your  mothers — for  the  love  of  your  sisters,  and  of 
female  decency,  let  me  not  be  thus  handled  in  your  pres- 
ence ;  it  suits  not  a  maiden  to  be  disrobed  by  such  rude 
grooms.  I  will  obey  you,"  she  added,  with  an  expres- 
sion of  patient  sorrow  in  her  voice  which  had  almost  2° 
melted  the  heart  of  Beaumanoir  himself;  "ye  are  elders 
among  your  people,  and  at  your  command  I  will  show 
the  features  of  an  ill-fated  maiden." 

She  withdrew  her  veil,  and  looked  on  them  with  a 
countenance  in  which  bashfulness  contended  with  dig-^s 
1  Of  the  Order  of  the  Templars. 


THE    TRIAL   OF  REBECCA    THE  JEWESS.      117 

nity.  Her  exceeding  beauty  excited  a  murmur  of  sur- 
prise, and  the  younger  knights  told  each  other  with  their 
eyes,  in  silent  correspondence,  that  Brian's  best  apology 
was  in  the  power  of  her  real  charms  rather  than  of  her 
imaginary  witchcraft.  3° 

The  circumstances  of  their  evidence  would  have  been, 
in  modern  days,  divided  into  two  classes — those  which 
were  immaterial,  and  those  which  were  actually  and 
physically  impossible.  But  both  were,  in  those  ignorant 
and  superstitious  times,  easily  credited  as  proofs  ofss 
guilt.  The  first  class  set  forth  that  Rebecca  was  heard 
to  mutter  to  herself  in  an  unknown  tongue — that  the 
songs  she  sung  by  fits  were  of  a  strangely  sweet  sound, 
which  made  the  ears  of  the  hearer  tingle,  and  his  heart 
throb — that  she  spoke  at  times  to  herself,  and  seemed  to  4° 
look  upward  for  a  reply — that  her  garments  were  of  a 
strange  and  mystic  form,  unlike  those  of  women  of  good 
repute — that  she  had  rings  impressed  with  cabalistical l 
devices,  and  that  strange  characters  were  broidered  on 
her  veil.  45 

All  these  circumstances,  so  natural  and  so  trivial, 
were  gravely  listened  to  as  proofs,  or,  at  least,  as  afford- 
ing strong  suspicions,  that  Rebecca  had  unlawful  corre- 
spondence with  mystical  powers. 

Less  than  one  half  of  this  weighty  evidence  would  s° 
have  been  sufficient  to  convict  any  old  woman,  poor  and 
ugly,  even  though  she  had  not  been  a  Jewess.  United 
with  that  fatal  circumstance,  the  body  of  proof  was  too 
weighty  for  Rebecca's  youth,  though  combined  with  the 
most  exquisite  beauty.  ss 

The  Grand-Master  had  collected  the  suffrages,  and 

1  Pertaining  to  the  cabala,  or  mysterious  science  of  Jewish  tradi- 
tions. 


Ii8      THE    TRIAL   OF  REBECCA    THE  JEWESS. 

now  in  a  solemn  tone. demanded  of  Rebecca  what  she 
had  to  say  against  the  sentence  of  condemnation  which 
he  was  about  to  pronounce. 

"  To  invoke  your  pity,"  said  the  lovely  Jewess,  with  60 
a  voice  tremulous  with  emotion,  "  would,  I  am  aware,  be 
as  useless  as  I  should  hold  it  mean.     To  state  that  to 
relieve  the  sick  and  wounded  of  another  religion  cannot 
be  displeasing  to  the  acknowledged  Founder  of  both  our 
faiths,  were  also  unavailing;  to  plead  that  many  things 65 
which  these  men — whom  may  Heaven  pardon  ! — have 
spoken  against  me  are  impossible,  would  avail  me  but 
little,  since  you  believe  in  their  possibility;  and  still  less 
would  it  advantage  me  to  explain  that  the  peculiarities 
of  my  dress,  language,  and  manners  are  those  of  my  peo-  7° 
pie — I  had  wellnigh  said  of  my  country,  but,  alas!  we 
have  no  country.     Nor  will  I  even  vindicate  myself  at 
the  expense  of  my  oppressor,  who  stands  there  listening 
to  the  fictions  and  surmises  which  seem  to  convert  the 
tyrant  into  the  victim.     God  be  judge  between  him  and  ?s 
me  !  but  rather  would  I  submit  to  ten  such  deaths  as 
your  pleasure  may  denounce  against  me  than  listen  to 
the  suit  which  that  man  of  Belial '  has  urged  upon  me — 
friendless,  defenceless,  and  his  prisoner.     But  he  is  of 
your  own  faith,  and  his  lightest  affirmance  would  weigh  So 
down  the  most  solemn  protestations  of  the  distressed 
Jewess.    I  will  not  therefore  return  to  himself  the  charge 
brought  against  me ;  but  to  himself — yes,  Brian  de  Bois- 
Guilbert,  to  thyself  I  appeal,  whether  these  accusations 
are  not  false  ?  as  monstrous  and  calumnious  as  they  are  85 
deadly?" 

There  was  a  pause ;  all  eyes  turned  to  Brian  de  Bois- 
Guilbert.     He  was  silent. 
>  Wicked  man.    See  I  Samuel,  xxv.  25,  2  Samuel,  xvi.  7,  xx.  i,  etc. 


THE    TRIAL   OF  REBECCA    THE  JEWESS.      ng 

"  Speak."  she  said,  "  if  thou  art  a  man — if  thou  art  a 
Christian,  speak ! — I  conjure  thee,  by  the  habit  which  9° 
thou  dost  wear,  by  the  name  thou  dost  inherit — by  the 
knighthood  thou  dost  vaunt — by  the  honor  of  thy  moth- 
er— by  the  tomb  and  the  bones  of  thy  father — I  conjure 
thee  to  say,  are  these -things  true?" 

"Answer   her,  brother,"  said   the   Grand-Master,  "if 95 
the  Enemy '  with  whom  thou  dost  wrestle  will  give  thee 
power." 

In  fact,  Bois-Guilbert  seemed  agitated  by  contending 
passions  which  almost  convulsed  his  features,  and  it  was 
with  a  constrained  voice  that  at  last  he  replied,  looking  100 
at  Rebecca — "  The  scroll ! — the  scroll !" 

"  Ay,"  said  Beaumanoir,  "  this  is  indeed  testimony ! 
The  victim  of  her  witcheries  can  only  name  the  fatal 
scroll,  the  spell  inscribed  on  which  is  doubtless  the 
cause  of  his  silence."  I0s 

But  Rebecca  put  another  interpretation  on  the  words 
extorted  as  it  were  from  Bois-Guilbert,  and  glancing  her 
eye  upon  the  slip  of  parchment  which  she  continued  to 
hold  in  her  hand,  she  read  written  thereupon  in  the 
Arabian  character,  Demand  a  Champion  !  *  The  mur-  «o 
muring  commentary  which  ran  through  the  assembly  at 
the  strange  reply  of  Bois-Guilbert  gave  Rebecca  leisure 
to  examine  and  instantly  to  destroy  the  scroll  unob- 
served. When  the  whisper  had  ceased,  the  Grand- 
Master  spoke.  "5 

"  Rebecca,  thou  canst  derive  no  benefit  from  the  evi- 
dence of  this  unhappy  knight,  for  whom,  as  we  well  per- 

'  The  evil  spirit  under  whose  power  he  is  supposed  to  have  been 
put  by  Rebecca. 

1 A  knight  to  fight  in  one's  defence,  according  to  the  usage  of 
the  time  explained  below. 


120     THE   TRIAL   OF  REBECCA    THE  JEWESS. 

ceive,  the  Enemy  is  yet  too  powerful.     Hast  thou  aught 
else  to  say  ?" 

"  There  is  yet  one  chance  of  life  left  to  me,"  said  120 
Rebecca,  "  even  by   your   own   fierce   laws.     Life   has 
been  miserable — miserable,  at  least,  of  late — but  I  will 
not  cast  away  the  gift  of  God,  while  he  affords  me  the 
means  of  defending  it.     I  deny  this  charge — I  maintain 
my  innocence,  and  I  declare  the  falsehood  of  this  ac-  "5 
cusation — I  challenge  the  privilege  of  trial  by  combat, 
and  will  appear  by  my  champion." 

"And  who,  Rebecca,"  replied  the  Grand  -  Master, 
"  will  lay  lance  in  rest '  for  a  sorceress?  who  will  be  the 
champion  of  a  Jewess  ?"  130 

"God  will  raise  me  up  a  champion,"  said  Rebecca — 
"  it  cannot  be  that  in  merry  England — the  hospitable, 
the  generous,  the  free — where  so  many  are  ready  to 
peril  their  lives  for  honor,  there  will  not  be  found  one 
to  fight  for  justice.  But  it  is  enough  that  I  challenge  '35 
the  trial  by  combat — there  lies  my  gage."  8 

She  took  her  embroidered  glove  from  her  hand,  and 
flung  it  down  before  the  Grand-Master  with  an  air  of 
mingled  simplicity  and  dignity  which  excited  universal 
surprise  and  admiration.  M° 

Even  Lucas  Beaumanoir  himself  was  affected  by  the 
mien  and  appearance  of  Rebecca.  He  was  not  origi- 
nally a  cruel  or  even  a  severe  man  ;  but  with  passions 
by  nature  cold,  and  with  a  high  though  mistaken  sense 
of  duty,  his  heart  had  been  gradually  hardened  by  the  143 
ascetic3  life  which  he  pursued,  the  supreme  power  which 
he  enjoyed,  and  the  supposed  necessity  of  subduing 

1  That  is,  take  up  arms.    See  p.  31  above. 
4  Token  of  challenge. 
*  Hermit,  monastic. 


I 


THE    TRIAL    OF  REBECCA    THE  JEWESS.      T2i 

infidelity  and    eradicating  heresy  which  he  conceived 
peculiarly  incumbent  on  him.     His  features  relaxed  in 
their  usual  severity  as  he  gazed  upon  the  beautiful  creat- 150 
ure  before  him,  alone,  unfriended,  and  defending  her- 
self with   so  much   spirit    and   courage.      He  crossed 
himself  twice,  as  doubting  whence  arose  the  unwonted 
softening  of  a  heart  which  on  such  occasions  used  to 
resemble  in  hardness  the  steel  of  his  sword.     At  length  iss 
he  spoke. 

"  Damsel,"  he  said,  "  if  the  pity  I  feel  for  thee  arise 
from  any  practice  thine  evil  arts  have  made  on  me,  great 
is  thy  guilt.  But  I  rather  judge  it  the  kinder  feelings  of 
nature,  which  grieves  that  so  goodly  a  form  should  be  a  160 
vessel  of  perdition.  Repent,  my  daughter — confess  thy 
witchcrafts — turn  thee  from  thine  evil  faith — embrace 
this  holy  emblem,1  arftl  all  shall  yet  be  well  with  thee 
here  and  hereafter.  In  some  sisterhood 2  of  the  strictest 
order  shalt  thou  have  time  for  prayer  and  fitting  pen- 165 
ance,  and  that  repentance  not  to  be  repented  of.  This 
do  and  live — what  has  the  law  of  Moses  done  for  thee 
that  thou  shouldest  die  for  it  ?" 

"  It  was  the  law  of  my  fathers,"  said  Rebecca ;  "  it 
was  delivered  in  thunders  and  in  storms  upon  the  moun- 170 
tain  of  Sinai,  in  cloud  and  in  fire.     This,  if  ye  are  Chris- 
tians, ye  believe — it  is,  you  say,  recalled ;   but  so  my 
teachers  have  not  taught  me." 

"Let  our  chaplain,"  said  Beaumanoir,  "stand  forth, 
and  tell  this  obstinate  infidel — "  i7S 

"  Forgive  the  interruption,"  said  Rebecca,  meekly ;  "  I 
am  a  maiden,  unskilled  to  dispute  for  my  religion,  but  I 
can  die  for  it,  if  it  be  God's  will.  Let  me  pray  your 
answer  to  my  demand  of  a  champion." 

1  The  cross.  3  That  is,  of  nuns. 


"122      THE   TRIAL    OF  REBECCA    THE  JEWESS. 

"  Give  me  her  glove,"  said  Beaumanoir.     "  This  is  180 
indeed,"  he  continued,  as  he  looked  at  the  flimsy  texture 
and  slender  fingers,  "  a  slight  and  frail  gage  for  a  pur- 
pose so  deadly ! — Seest  thou,  Rebecca,  as  this  thin  and 
light  glove  of  thine  is  to  one  of  our  heavy  steel  gauntlets, 
so  is  thy  cause  to  that  of  the  Temple,  for  it  is  our  Order  185 
which  thou  hast  defied." 

"Cast  my  innocence  into  the  scale,"  answered  Re- 
becca, "and  the  glove  of  silk  shall  outweigh  the  glove 
of  iron." 

"Then  thou  dost  persist  in  thy  refusal  to  confess  thy  190 
guilt,  and  in  that  bold  challenge  which  thou  hast  made  ?" 

"  I  do  persist,  noble  sir,"  answered  Rebecca. 

"  So  be  it  then,  in  the  name  of  Heaven,"  said  the 
Grand-Master;  "and  may  God  show  the  right!" 

"  It  is  our  charge  to  thee,  Brother,"  he  continued,  195 
addressing  himself  to  Bois-Guilbert,  "  that  thou  do  thy 
battle  manfully,  nothing  doubting  that  the  good  cause 
shall  triumph. — And  do  thou,  Rebecca,  attend,  that  we 
assign  thee  the  third  day  from  the  present  to  find  a 
champion."  200 

"That  is  but  brief  space,"  answered  Rebecca,  "for  a 
stranger,  who  is  also  of  another  faith,  to  find  one  who 
will  do  battle,  wagering  life  and  honor  for  her  cause, 
against  a  knight  who  is  called  an  approved  soldier." 

"  We    may    not    extend    it,"    answered    the    Grand-  205 
Master;  "the  field  must  be  foughten1  in  our  own  pres- 
ence, and  divers  weighty  causes  call  us  on  the  fourth 
day  from  hence." 

"  God's  will  be   done !"    said   Rebecca ;  "  I  put  my 
trust  in  Him  to  whom   an  instant  is   as   effectual   to  210 
save  as  a  whole  age." 

1  An  old  participle  of  the  \trbfight. 


THE   TRIAL   OF  REBECCA    THE  JEWESS.      123 

"  Thou   hast  spoken   well,  damsel,"  said  the  Grand- 
Master  ;  "  but  well  know  we  who  can  array  himself  like 
an  angel  of  light.1    It  remains  but  to  name  a  fitting  place 
of  combat,  and,  if  it  so  hap,  also  of  execution. — Where  is  215 
the  Preceptor  of  this  house  ?'' 

Albert  Malvoisin,  still  holding  Rebecca's  glove  in  his 
hand,  was  speaking  to  Bois-Guilbert  very  earnestly,  but 
in  a  low  voice. 

"  How  !"  said  the  Grand-Master,  "  will  he  not  receive  220 
the  gage  ?" 

"  He   will  —  he   doth,    most    reverend    father,"    said 
Malvoisin,  slipping   the   glove   under  his   own  mantle. 
"  And  for  the  place  of  combat,  I  hold  the  fittest  to  be 
the  lists  of  Saint  George  belonging  to  this  Preceptory,  225 
and  used  by  us  for  military  exercise." 

"  It  is  well,"  said  the  Grand-Master. — "  Rebecca,  in 
those  lists  shalt  thou  produce  thy  champion  ;  and  if  thou 
failest  to  do  so,  or  if  thy  champion  shall  be  discomfited 
by  the  judgment  of  God,  thou  shalt  then  die  the  death  230 
of  a  sorceress,  according  to  doom." 

1  See  2  Corinthians,  xi.  14. 


VIEW   OF   HOLY   SEPULCHRE,  JERUSALEM. 


NOTES. 


ABBREVIATIONS,  except  a  few  of  the  most  familiar,  have  been  avoided  in  the 
Notes,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  book.  The  references  to  act,  scene,  and  line  in 
the  quotations  from  Shakespeare  are  added  for  the  convenience  of  the  teacher  or 
parent,  who  may  sometimes  wish  to  refer  to  the  context,  and  possibly  to  make 
use  of  it  in  talking  with  the  young  people  The  line-numbers  are  those  of  the 
"  Globe  "  edition,  which  vary  from  those  of  my  edition  only  in  scenes  that  are 
wholly  or  partly  in  prose. 

The  numbers  appended  to  names  of  persons  (as  in  the  note  on  page  14,  line  374, 
for  example)  are  the  dates  of  their  birth  and  death.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that 
I  would  have  these  committed  to  memory  as  a  part  of  the  lesson,  though  it  is  well 
for  the  pupil  to  know  at  about  what  time  an  eminent  man  lived  or  wrote. 

The  pronunciation  of  a  few  foreign  words  not  included  in  the  index  is  appended 
here: 

Asphaltites,  as-fal-ti'-tez. 

Beaulte",  bo-ta. 

Beaumanoir,  bo-tnan-viahr '• 

Bois-Guilbert,  bwa.h-gil-ba.ir   (hard  g). 

Brian,  bre-ahtig'  (or  as  in  English). 

de  (e  as  in  her). 

des  Amours,  daz-ah-moor '. 

Vron\.-&e-ft(K\if,frong-de-6e/  (e  as  in  her). 

Grantmesnil,  grahng-ma-nif. 

Hereward,  her '-e -ward. 

Hundebert,  hun'-de-bert. 

le  (e  as  in  her). 

Malvoisin,  mal-vwah-zang '. 

Martival,  mar-ti-vaf. 

Montdidier,  mong-did-1-a ' . 

Montjoie  Saint  Denis,  mdng-zhwah'  sang  de-tie'  (first  e  as  in  her). 

Rowena,  ro-e'-na. 

Royne,  rain. 

The  French  nasal  soui,d,  represented  above  by  ng,  is  unknown  in  English,  and 
can  be  learned  only  from  a  person  familiar  with  French.  Certain  other  sounds 
are  indicated  only  approximately,  as  they  differ  somewhat  from  the  English. 

W.  J.  R. 


NOTES. 


EARLY  LIFE  OF  SCOTT. 

Page  3j  line  6l. — Strength.  In  this  use  of  strength  for  strong- 
hold, we  have  an  example  of  an  "  abstract "  noun,  or  the  name  of  a 
quality,  put  for  a  "  concrete  "  noun,  or  the  name  of  something  possess- 
ing that  quality.  This  is  a  form  of  that  "  figure  of  speech"  which 
writers  on  rhetoric  call  metonymy — a  word  which  means  "  change  of 
name"  or  "exchange  of  names."  Shakespeare  uses  this  same  ab- 
stract noun  in  another  concrete  sense  in  King  Lear  (i.  I.  41),  where 
the  old  monarch  says  : 

"  Know  that  we  have  divided 
In  three  our  kingdom ;  and  'tis  our  fast  intent 
To  shake  all  cares  and  business  from  our  age, 
Conferring  them  on  younger  strengths ;" 

that  is,  on  those  who  are  younger  and  stronger.  We  also  find 
strength  used  for  an  army  (just  as  we  now  use  force  and  forces — an- 
other example  of  the  same  figure) ;  as  in  King  John  (ii.  i.  388),  where 
"your  united  strengths"  means  your  allied  armies. 

Line  65. —  Wassail -rout.  Drinking-bout.  The  word  wassail 
originally  meant  the  drinking  of  a  health.  It  is  from  two  old  words 
meaning  literally  "be  hale,"  or  healthy.  Thence  it  came  to  be  ap- 
plied to  a  favorite  beverage  of  our  Saxon  ancestors,  made  of  ale 
(sometimes  wine)  spiced  and  sweetened,  with  roasted  crab-apples 
floating  in  it. 

Line  66. — Methonght.  It  seemed  to  me.  Of  course  it  is  equiva- 
lent to  "  I  thought ;"  but  the  thought  in  it  is  not  from  our  present 
think.  In  old  English  there  was  an  impersonal  verb  thinken,  to 
seem,  as  well  as  the  personal  verb  thenken,  to  think.  The  former 
has  become  obsolete  except  in  this  compound  methinks,  in  which  me 
is  the  old  dative  case,  equivalent  to  to  me.  In  early  writers  we  find 
him  thoughte  (it  seemed  to  him),  hem  thoughte  (it  seemed  to  them), 
hir  thotighte  (it  seemed  to  her),  etc.  Meseems  and  meseemed  are 
similar  old  forms,  occasionally  used  by  poets  of  our  day ;  as  by 
Mrs.  E.  B.  Browning  :  "  Meseemed  I  floated  into  a  sudden  light." 

Line  75.— Wallace  wight.     The  gallant  Sir  William  Wallace,  a 


128  NOTES. 

famous  Scotch  patriot  of  the  latter  part  of  the  thirteenth  century. 
He  was  the  most  successful  leader  of  his  countrymen  in  the  rebel- 
lion against  English  rule.  After  routing  the  Earl  of  Surrey  in  a 
great  battle  on  the  nth  of  September,  1297,  and  ravaging  the  north- 
ern counties  of  England,  he  was  elected  governor  of  Scotland  ;  but 
the  next  year  King  Edward  I.  brought  a  great  army  against  him  and 
defeated  him  at  Falkirk  on  the  22d  of  July.  Little  is  known  of  his 
after-life  until  1305,  when  he  was  treacherously  delivered  up  to  Ed- 
ward, and  executed  at  London  as  a  traitor,  his  plea  that  he  had  never 
been  a  subject  of  the  English  king  being  unjustly  disregarded. 

Bruce  the  bold  refers  to  Robert  Bruce,  the  most  heroic  of  the  Scot- 
tish kings.  He  was  born  March  21,  1274,  and  in  1296  swore  alle- 
giance to  Edward  I. ;  but  soon  after  he  joined  the  Scottish  leaders 
in  their  rebellion  against  English  authority.  After  varied  fortunes 
he  was  crowned  king  in  1306,  and  before  1309  had  freed  nearly  the 
whole  of  Scotland  from  foreign  rule.  In  1314  he  defeated  Edward 
II.  at  the  memorable  battle  of  Bannockburn ;  and  later  he  gained 
other  victories  over  the  English  on  their  own  soil  as  well  as  in  Scot- 
land. A  truce  between  the  kingdoms  followed,  but  Edward  III. 
renewed  hostilities  in  1327.  The  Scots  were  again  victorious,  and 
a  treaty  of  peace,  recognizing  their  national  independence,  was  rati- 
fied the  next  year.  Bruce  continued  to  reign  until  his  death  in  June, 
1329.  He  is  the  hero  of  Scott's  poem  of  The  Lord  of  the  Isles. 

Page  4r,  line  91. — Sprung  of  Scotland's  gentler  blood.  Descended 
from  one  of  its  better  families;  that  is,  the  Scotts  of  Harden,  who 
traced  their  lineage  to  Walter  Scott  of  Harden — or  "  Wat  of  Har- 
den "  (see  page  5),  as  he  was  generally  called — a  renowned  Border 
freebooter  of  the  time  of  Queen  Mary.  Scott  was  very  proud  of  his 
descent  from  this  old  marauding  baron,  and  has  immortalized  him 
in  the  3d  canto  of  The  Lay  of  The  Last  Minstrel. 

Line  94. —  Whose  doom  discording  neighbours  sought.  To  whose 
judgment  or  arbitration  his  neighbors  submitted  their  disputes,  in- 
stead of  going  to  law.  We  have  doom  in  this  sense  of  judgment  in 
doomsday.  See  also  p.  123,  line  231. 

Page  6,  line  149. — As  You  Like  it.  One  of  Shakespeare's  most 
delightful  comedies.  Orlando  is  the  younger  brother  of  Oliver,  to 
whose  care  he  has  been  committed  by  their  father's  will,  but  who 
proves  disgracefully  false  to  the  charge  laid  upon  him.  In  the  open- 
ing scene  of  the  play,  Orlando  reproaches  his  brother  for  this  neg- 
lect of  duty,  and  the  "quarrel"  is  the  result. 

Line  162. — Prestonpans.  A  small  seaport  about  eight  miles  east 
of  Edinburgh.  Salt-pans  were  erected  here  as  early  as  the  twelfth 
century  (whence  the  name),  but  the  manufacture  of  salt  was  long 


EARLY  LIFE  OF  SCOTT. 


129 


ago  given  up.  On  the  2ist  of  September,  1745,  a  famous  battle  was 
fought  in  the  vicinity  between  the  Royalist  and  Jacobite  forces,  in 
which  the  former  were  utterly  routed. 

Page  7?  line  175. —  The  quantity  of  lakes.  It  would  be  more  cor- 
rect to  say  "  the  great  number  of  lakes,"  or  "  the  many  lakes  ;" 
quantity  being  properly  used  with  reference  to  bulk  or  amount,  not 
with  reference  to  number.  The  word  is  derived  from  a  Latin  word 
meaning  "  how  much  ?"  and  it  answers  that  question,  not  "  how 
many  ?"  We  can  say  "  a  quantity  of  beef,"  but  not  "  a  quantity  of 
oxen." 

Page  8,  line  214. — /  had  observed  some  auditors  smile.  With 
observe  the  "prepositional  infinitive"  (to  smile)  is  commonly  used, 
but  the  form  used  by  Scott  is  not  incorrect.  See  Matzner's  English 
Grammar,  vol.  iii.  p.  13. 

Page  9?  line  239. — Stout  of  hand  and  heart,  though  somewhat  dull 
of  head.  In  hand  .  .  .  heart  .  ,  .  head  we  have  an  example  of 
alliteration,  or  the  use  of  successive  words  beginning  with  the  same 
letter  or  sound.  The  poet  Charles  Churchill  (1731-1764)  illustrates 
it  while  referring  to  it  in  his  "Apt  alliteration's  artful  aid."  In 
Shakespeare's  day  it  was  carried  to  a  ridiculous  excess,  and  he  bur- 
lesques it  in  the  Midsummer  Night's  Dream,  i.  2.  33  : 

"  The  raging  rocks 
And  shivering  shocks 
Shall  break  the  locks 

Of  prison  gates ; 
And  Phibbus'  car 
Shall  shine  from  far, 
And  make  and  mar 

The  foolish  Fates;" 

and  more  broadly  in  the  same  play,  v.  i.  147  : 

"  Whereat,  with  blade,  with  bloody  blameful  blade, 
He  bravely  broached  his  boiling  bloody  breast." 

Line  253. —  This  was  really  gathering  grapes  from  thistles.  That 
is,  finding  unexpected  pleasure  in  what  had  been  disagreeable.  The 
expression  is  "figurative,"  the  real  meaning  being  suggested  by  a 
"  figure,"  or  implied  resemblance.  It  is  also  an  example  ot  a 
"  Scriptural  allusion ;"  for  Scott  evidently  had  in  mind  Matthew, 
vii.  16  :  "  Do  men  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles  ?" 

Page  10,  line  255.  —  Gualterns.  The  Latin  form  for  Walter. 
Latin  was  doubtless  used  more  or  less  in  the  intercourse  between 
teacher  and  pupil,  as  in  English  grammar-schools  now. 

Line  266.  Climbed  to  the  first  form.  Worked  up  into  the  first 
class.  The  different  grades  or  classes  in  English  schools  are  called 

9 


I3o 


MOTES. 


forms.  In  climbed  the  effort  Walter  had  to  make  in  gaining  the  first 
form  is  indirectly  compared  to  that  which  we  make  in  climbing  a 
steep  hill  or  some  other  difficult  ascent.  Such  an  indirect  or  implied 
comparison  is  called  a  metaphor.  The  name  is  from  the  Greek,  and 
means  a  transferrcnce.  Here,  for  example,  the  familiar  idea  of  climb- 
ing is  transferred  to  a  very  different  kind  of  exertion,  which  it  never- 
theless illustrates. 

Page  llj  line  286.  —  Galgacus.  A  Caledonian  chieftain  who 
resisted  the  Romans  in  their  invasion  of  his  native  land,  but  was 
defeated  by  Agricola  (84  A.D.).  The  "speech"  referred  to  is  given 
by  the  Latin  historian  Tacitus.  Being  "  spouted  "  in  Latin,  it  was 
understood  by  few  in  the  audience. 

Line  298. — Profane.  That  is,  not  sacred,  as  we  speak  of  profane 
history  in  distinction  from  Biblical  history. 

Page  12,  line  314. — Ossiatt.  A  Celtic  (or  Keltic)  warrior-poet, 
said  to  have  lived  in  the  third  century.  Only  a  few  fragments  of 
his  verse  have  been  preserved  ;  but  about  the  year  1760  James  Mac- 
pherson,  a  Scotch  schoolmaster,  published  two  long  poems,  Fiiigal 
and  Temora,  with  some  smaller  pieces,  which  he  affirmed  to  be 
translations  of  compositions  by  Ossian  that  had  been  preserved  by 
oral  tradition  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland.  They  were  greatly  ad- 
mired at  first,  but  their  authenticity  was  soon  disputed  by  critics, 
and  a  long  and  bitter  controversy  was  the  result.  It  was  finally  set- 
tled that  the  poems  were  not  genuine,  though  they  were  to  some 
extent  imitations  or  adaptations  of  Ossianic  poetry ;  and  also  that, 
so  far  as  they  were  genuine,  they  ought  to  be  considered  as  Irish 
rather  than  Scotch. 

Line  315. — Spenser.  Edmund  Spenser,  one  of  the  most  eminent 
poets  of  the  Elizabethan  or  any  other  age.  He  was  born  in  London 
in  the  year  1553,  and  was  educated  at  Cambridge.  His  Shepherd's 
Kalendar  was  published  in  1579,  and  six  books  of  his  chief  work, 
The  Faerie  Queene,  appeared  in  1590  and  1591.  This  poem  was 
never  completed.  Little  is  known  of  Spenser's  personal  history,  but 
nearly  all  that  we  do  know  is  very  sad.  In  1580  he  went  to  reside 
in  Ireland,  as  secretary  to  Lord  Grey,  the  queen's  deputy  in  that 
country;  and  in  1586  his  official  services  were  rewarded  by  the 
grant  of  the  large  estate  of  Kilcolman,  near  the  city  of  Cork.  In  a 
rebellion  which  occurred  in  1598  his  house  was  sacked  and  burned, 
and  his  youngest  child  perished  in  the  flames.  The  poet  and  his 
wife  barely  escaped  with  their  lives,  and  fled  to  England.  On  the 
I5th  of  the  next  January  he  died  in  London,  perhaps  not  literally 
"  for  lack  of  bread,"  as  we  are  told  by  Ben  Jonson,  a  brother  poet 
who  knew  him  well,  but  doubtless  in  poverty  and  wretchedness. 


EARLY  LIFE  OF  SCOTT.  i$i 

He  was  buried  at  his  own  request  near  Chaucer  in  Westminster 
Abbey. 

Line  320. —  The  allegory.  An  allegory  is  a  narrative  with  a  figura- 
tive meaning,  which  we  may  or  may  not  recognize  in  reading  it.  The 
Pilgrim's  Progress  of  John  Bunyan  is  a  familiar  and  famous  exam- 
ple. The  pilgrimage  described  in  it  typifies  the  progress  of  the 
Christian  life.  A  child  may  read  and  enjoy  the  book  without  sus- 
pecting its  hidden  meaning.  So  the  Faerie  Queene  of  Spenser  is  an 
allegory,  in  which  the  characters  represent  virtues  and  vices ;  but, 
as  a  good  critic  has  said,  "  the  beauties  of  the  poem  may  be  felt 
though  the  allegory  is  disregarded,  and  perhaps  the  best  advice  to 
give  to  one  reading  Spenser  for  the  first  time  is  to  let  the  allegory 
alone  altogether  " — just  as  the  young  Scott  did. 

Line  331. — A  Border-raid  ballad.  Like  many  that  Scott  collected 
in  his  Border  Minstrelsy  (see  p.  16). 

Page  13,  line  334. —  Was  also  a  sealed  book.  That  is,  it  was  like 
a  book  whose  covers  are  fastened  together  and  sealed,  so  that  it 
cannot  be  read.  Here  we  have  a  metaphor,  or  implied  comparison 
(see  on  page  10,  line  266  above) ;  as  in  line  350  below  :  "  I  waded 
into  the  stream ;"  where  the  abundant  reading  at  his  command  is 
indirectly  compared  to  a  stream  into  which  he  is  free  to  wade.  But 
when  he  goes  on  to  say  "  like  a  blind  man  into  a  ford,"  the  compar- 
ison is  direct,  and  is  called  a  simile  (a  Latin  word  meaning  like  or  sim- 
ilar, which  is  derived  from  it).  The  simile  is  always  introduced  by 
like,  as,  or  some  word  expressing  likeness  or  similarity ;  while  the 
metaphor  omits  these  words  and  merely  implies  that  one  thing  is  like 
another.  If  Scott  had  written,  "  The  philosophy  of  history  was  like 
a  sealed  book  to  me,"  it  would  have  been  a  simile  instead  of  a 
metaphor. 

Line  356. — Bishop  Percy's  Reliques  of  Ancient  Poetry.  A  collec- 
tion of  old  English  ballads  published  by  Thomas  Percy  (1728-1811), 
Bishop  of  Dromore,  in  1765. 

Page  14,  line  365. — Banquet.     Is  this  a  metaphor  or  a  simile  ? 

Line  374.- — Richardson.  Samuel  Richardson  (1689-1761),  the  au- 
thor of  Pamela,  Clarissa  Harlowe,  and  Sir  Charles  Grandison,  nov- 
els famous  in  their  day,  but  seldom  read  now.  Henry  Mackenzie 
(1745-1831)  was  a  Scotch  novelist  and  essayist.  His  most  noted 
book  was  The  Man  of  Feeling.  Henry  Fielding  (1707-1754),  author 
of  Tom  Jones,  etc.,  and  Tobias  George  Smollett  (1721-1771),  author 
of  Roderick  Random,  Peregrine  Pickle,  etc.,  are  reckoned  among  the 
greatest  English  writers  of  fiction,  though  their  works  are  not  suited 
to  the  popular  taste  of  our  day. 

Line  381. — Kelso.     This  town  is  on  the  Tweed,  only  a  few  miles 


132 


NOTES. 


from  Sandy- Knowe,  where  Scott's  grandfather  lived.  It  has  a 
ruined  abbey,  built  in  the  twelfth  century  ;  and  just  across  the  river 
are  the  remains  of  Roxburghe  Castle,  which  was  for  a  time  the 
chief  residence  of  the  kings  of  Scotland.  Being  so  near  to  the  Eng- 
lish border,  Kelso  suffered  much  during  the  wars  between  the  two 
countries.  James  II.  of  Scotland  was  killed  by  the  bursting  of  a 
cannon  at  the  siege  of  Roxburghe  Castle  in  1460.  The  abbey  at 
Kelso  had  been  several  times  burnt  by  the  English  before  they  re- 
duced it  to  its  present  ruinous  state  in  1545. 

Page  15,  line   418.  —  So  narrow  a  foundation   to  build  upon, 
What  figure  have  we  here  ? 


LATER   LIFE   OF   SCOTT. 

Page  1 7)  line  53. — Fortune  seemed  to  pour  her  whole  cornucopia 
of  wealth,  etc.  This  is  an  example  of  the  figure  called  personifica- 
tion, by  which  lifeless  things  are  represented  as  living.  Fortune 
here  becomes  a  powerful  goddess,  as  the  Greeks  and  Romans  de- 
scribed her,  with  the  cornucopia,  or  horn  of  plenty,  as  the  symbol  of 
her  good  gifts  to  men.  Personification  is  more  frequent  in  poetry 
than  in  prose,  but  some  forms  of  the  latter  furnish  many  examples 
of  it. 

Page  18,  line  60. — As  an  exhaust/ess  mine.  What  is  the  figure 
here? 

Page  19,  line  91.  —  Gentle  as  a  child.  Is  the  figure  here  the 
same  as  in  the  mists  of  the  next  line? 

Line  103. — Dryburgh  Abbey.  The  cut  on  page  20  gives  an  idea 
of  the  present  appearance  of  this  ruin,  which  is  near  the  Tweed 
and  about  seven  miles  from  Abbotsford.  The  abbey  was  founded 
about  the  year  1150,  but  was  burnt  by  the  soldiers  of  Edward  II.  in 
their  retreat  from  Scotland  in  1322.  Having  been  rebuilt,  it  was 
again  destroyed  by  the  English  in  1544.  Whether  it  was  again  re- 
built is  doubtful.  St.  Alary 's  Aisle  is  a  part  of  the  "  north  transept " 
of  the  abbey  church.*  Scott's  tomb  is  inside  the  right-hand  arch 
seen  in  the  cut. 


*  The  church,  like  most  Gothic  churches,  was  built  in  the  form  of  a  Latin  cross, 
or  a  cross  of  which  one  arm  is  longer  than  the  others.  In  such  a  cruciform  (cross' 
shaped)  church,  the  long  arm  is  called  the  nave,  the  short  arm  at  the  top  (or  in  a 
line  with  the  nave)  is  the  choir,  and  the  two  transverse  arms  are  the  transepts. 
As  the  nave  and  choir  were  built  in  a  line  from  west  to  east  (the  main  front  of  the 
church  being  at  the  western  end  of  the  nave),  the  transepts  are  to  the  north  and 
south. 


THE  CRUSADERS. 


THE  CRUSADERS. 

Page  21,  line  13.—  The  Holy  Septdchre.  The  Church  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem  is  generally  believed  to  be  on  the  site 
of  the  tomb  of  Christ,  though  some  learned  men  have  held  a  differ- 
ent opinion. 

Line  18. — The  Grecian  or  Eastern  Empire.  One  of  the  parts  into 
which  the  Roman  Empire  was  divided  a  little  before  the  end  of  the 
third  century. 

Page  22,  line  30. —  The  Saracens.  The  Arabian  followers  of 
Mahomet  and  founders  of  an  empire  which,  fifty  years  after  his  death, 
extended  "  from  the  Indus  in  the  east  and  the  Caucasus  in  the  north, 
to  the  coasts  of  the  Atlantic  in  the  west." 

Line  37. — Mahomet.  Mohammed,  often  called  Mahomet,  the 
founder  of  the  religion  of  Islam,  was  born  at  Mecca,  570  A.D.  In 
his  fortieth  year  he  professed  to  receive  the  first  of  the  divine  reve- 
lations on  which  his  claims  as  a  prophet  were  founded.  Before  his 
death  in  632,  he  had  firmly  established  the  faith  in  which  more  than 
130  millions  of  people  are  now  believers. 

Page  24,  line  83. — Clermont.  There  are  at  least  five  towns  of 
this  name  in  France.  The  one  here  meant  is  known  as  Clermont- 
Ferrand.  It  is  in  the  central  part  of  the  country,  two  hundred  and 
sixty  miles  south  of  Paris.  Several  ecclesiastical  councils  were  held 
here,  the  most  noteworthy  being  that  of  1095,  at  which  Pope  Urban 
II.  was  present  in  person,  with  many  of  his  cardinals,  thirteen  arch- 
bishops, and  two  hundred  and  five  bishops. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  KNIGHT  AND  THE  SARACEN. 

Page  26,  line  z. — A  knight  of  the  Red-cross.  That  is,  wearing 
the  red  cross  of  St.  George,  the  national  emblem  of  England.  The 
first  book  of  Spenser's  Faerie  Queene  is  devoted  to  the  "  legend  of 
the  Knight  of  the  Red-cross,"  who  typifies  Holiness  in  the  allegory 
(see  on  page  12, line  320,  above).  The  2d  stanza  says  of  him: 

"  And  on  his  brest  a  bloodie  Crosse  he  bore, 
The  deare  remembrance  of  his  dying  Lord, 
For  whose  sweete  sake  that  glorious  badge  he  wore, 
And  dead,  as  living,  ever  him  ador'd : 


134  NOTES. 

Upon  his  shield  the  like  was  also  scor'd, 

For  soveraine  hope  which  in  his  helpe  he  had." 

Line  6. — Lake  Asphaltite s.  This  is  the  old  Latin  name  of  the  sea 
(Lacus  Asphaltites),  now  seldom  used. 

Page  27,  line  35. — And  even  the  very  air  was  entirely  devoid  of 
its  ordinary  winged  inhabitants,  etc.  This  has  often  been  asserted 
of  the  Dead  Sea ;  but,  according  to  good  authorities,  birds  have 
been  seen  flying  over  the  lake,  and  even  resting  on  its  surface.  Here 
and  there  upon  its  banks  are  thickets  of  tamarisk  and  oleander  which 
are  the  home  of  many  singing-birds.  Except  on  the  east  side,  how- 
ever, where  there  are  ravines  with  fresh-water  springs,  the  shores  are 
destitute  of  vegetation  and  indescribably  dreary. 

Line  53- — A  sufficient  weight  of  armor.  The  ancient  armor  was 
heavy  and  cumbrous,  but  training  and  experience  made  the  wearing 
of  it  easier  than  we  might  think  possible.  Measurements  of  the 
many  specimens  that  have  been  preserved  prove  that  the  men  who 
wore  it  were  not  of  larger  frame  than  the  average  soldier  of  to-day. 

Page  28,  line  75. —  The  arms  of  the  owner.  Heraldry,  or  "  the 
science  of  armorial  bearings,"  had  its  rise  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
twelfth  century.  Some  devices  of  the  kind  were  put  upon  the  shields 
used  by  knights  in  the  third  crusade  (1189) ;  and  early  in  the  next 
century  these  coats-of-arms  (as  they  were  called  from  being  embroid- 
ered on  the  surcoat,  as  here)  came  to  be  transmitted  from  father  to 
son.  By  slow  degrees  the  complicated  system  of  modern  heraldry 
grew  up.  For  an  account  of  this,  see  any  encyclopaedia  under  Her- 
aldry. The  technical  terms  of  the  science  (like  couchant  in  the  next 
line)  are  explained  in  any  large  dictionary. 

Page  29,  line  I. — Crest.  The  plume,  tuft,  or  other  ornament  on 
the  top  of  the  helmet.  It  came  to  be  an  important  feature  in  coats- 
of-arms. 

Line  95. —  The  fabulous  unicorn.  The  creature  which  is  associ- 
ated with  the  lion  in  the  arms  of  England.  A  somewhat  similar  one- 
horned  animal  is  described  by  old  Greek  and  Roman  writers  as 
native  to  India. 

Pslge  30,  line  117. —  The  renmvned  Norman  line.  Normandy  got 
its  name  from  the  Northmen — Norwegians  or  Scandinavians — who, 
under  the  leadership  of  Rolf  or  Rollo,  conquered  that  part  of  France 
in  the  early  part  of  the  tenth  century.  They  were  a  rude  race,  but 
soon  adopted  the  more  civilized  form  of  life  which  they  found  in  their 
new  home,  without  losing  their  Northern  vigor  and  prowess.  In 
1066,  under  William  the  Conqueror,  they  became  the  rulers  of  Eng- 
land. Of  their  doings  there  we  shall  learn  a  good  deal  in  other  parts 
of  this  book. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  KNIGHT  AND  THE  SARACEN.  135 

Line  119. — Adventurous  swords.  Here  we  have  an  example  of 
a  very  common  figure  or  form  of  speech — the  transferring  of  an 
adjective  from  the  noun  which  it  properly  describes  to  another  as- 
sociated or  connected  with  the  former.  The  swords  are  not  adven- 
turous or  daring,  but  the  men  who  wield  them.  In  the  same  way 
we  may  speak  of  "coward  swords"  instead  of  cowardly  soldiers. 
Gray,  in  his  well-known  Elegy,  says :  "  The  ploughman  homeward 
plods  his  weary  way."  Any  child  can  tell  to  which  noun  the  weary 
really  belongs.  Compare  "  a  sick-bed"  in  line  137  below. 

Line  143. — Iron  frame.  Here  we  have  a  metaphor  in  an  adjec- 
tive. The  strong  frame  of  the  knight  is  indirectly  compared  to 
iron. 

Page  31,  line  166. — As  if  borne  on  the  wings  of  an  eagle.  What 
is  the  figure  here  ?  Compare  page  33,  line  205: "  like  a  hawk,"  etc. 

Page  32,  line  186.  At  full  career.  At  full  speed.  Compare 
The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,  iv.  566 :  "  On  foaming  steed  in  full 
career." 

Page  35,  line  274. — By  the  cross  of  my  sword.  As  the  handle  of 
the  sword  was  formed  like  a  cross  (see  p.  28,  line  63,  above),  swear- 
ing by  the  sword  was  very  common.  In  Shakespeare's  Winter's 
Tale  (ii.  3. 168)  Leontes  says  to  Antigonus  : 

"  Swear  by  this  sword 
Thou  wilt  perform  my  bidding ;" 

and  again  in  the  same  play  (iii.  2.  125),  an  officer  says  : 

"  You  here  shall  swear  upon  this  sword  of  justice 
That  you,  Cleomenes  and  Dion,  have 
Been  both  at  Delphos,"  etc. 

Line  280. — And  now  wend  we,  etc.  And  now  let  us  go,  etc. 
Wend  we  is  the  first  person  imperative,  a  form  not  recognized  in 
most  of  the  elementary  grammars. 

Page  36,  line  310. — A  station.  That  is,  a  halting-place  for  trav- 
ellers in  their  journey  across  the  desert. 

Line  320. —  Velvet  verdure.  For  the  figure  in  the  adjective,  com- 
pare page  30,  line  143,  above.  See  another  example  of  it  on  page 
2,  line  49,  above. 


136 


NOTES. 


SHERWOOD  FOREST    IN   THE  REIGN   OF   RICHARD 
THE  FIRST. 

Page  37,  line  2. —  The  river  Don.  In  the  southern  part  of  York- 
shire, flowing  into  the  Humber.  Sheffield,  Doncaster,  and  Rother- 
ham  are  all  on  this  river ;  and  the  mansions  referred  to  are  in  the 
same  neighborhood. 

Line  8. —  The  fabulous  Dragon  of  Wantley.  A  monster  celebrated 
in  several  old  ballads  (in  Percy's  Reliques,  Scott's  Border  Minstrel- 
sy, etc.),  which  had  its  haunt  in  a  cave  in  Wharncliffe  Crags,  still 
known  as  the  "  Dragon's  Den."  The  creature  was  finally  destroyed 
by  the  valiant  More  of  More  Hall,  an  old  house  yet  to  be  seen  on 
the  banks  of  the  Don. 

Line  10. —  The  Civil  Wars  of  the  Roses.  The  civil  contest  which 
raged  in  England  from  1455  to  1485  between  the  factions  supporting 
the  rival  claims  of  the  houses  of  York  and  Lancaster  to  the  throne. 
The  badge  of  the  former  house  was  the  white  rose,  of  the  latter  the 
red  rose. 

Line  12. — Outlaws.  Of  whom  the  most  famous  was  Robin  Hood, 
who  figures  in  the  narrative  beginning  on  page  84  below. 

Line  20. — Stephen.  Who  reigned  in  England  from  1135  to  1154, 
the  first  five  years  being  spent  in  a  civil  war  as  bloody  as  that  of  the 
Roses.  The  old  Saxon  Chronicle  says  :  "  In  this  king's  time  all  was 
dissension  and  evil  and  rapine.  .  .  .  Thou  mightest  go  a  whole 
day's  journey,  and  not  find  a  man  sitting  in  a  town,  nor  an  acre  of 
land  tilled.  The  poor  died  of  hunger,  and  those  who  had  been  well- 
to-do  begged  for  bread.  .  .  .  This  lasted  the  nineteen  years  that 
Stephen  was  king,  and  it  grew  continually  worse."  Henry  II.  suc- 
ceeded Stephen,  and  reigned  until  1189.  Though  by  no  means  a 
model  sovereign,  he  was  far  better  than  his  predecessor. 

Page  38,  line  35. — Feudal  tyranny.  The  rule  of  the  great  nobles 
mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraph.  The  "feudal  system,"  of 
which  we  get  a  glimpse  in  the  following  pages,  prevailed  through- 
out Europe  from  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  to  the  latter  part  of  the 
thirteenth  century. 

Line  56. —  The  battle  of  Hastings.  The  battle  fought  near  Hastings 
on  the  southern  coast  of  England,  between  William  Duke  of  Nor- 
mandy and  Harold  the  Saxon  King  of  England,  in  which  the  latter 
was  defeated  and  slain,  and  the  Conqueror,  as  William  was  thence- 


SHERWOOD  FOREST. 


137 


forward  called,  became  master  of  the  country.  It  <vas  fought  on  the 
I4th  of  October,  1066. 

Page  39,  line  67. —  The  laws  of  the  chase.  Severe  restrictions 
upon  hunting,  the  wild  game  in  the  country  being  claimed  as  the 
property  of  the  crown.  See  foot-note  on  p.  46. 

Line  71. — Add  weight,  as  it  were,  to  the  feudal  chains.  The  inser- 
tion of  as  it  were  makes  the  expression  a  simile,  instead  of  the  meta- 
phor it  would  otherwise  be.  See  on  page  13,  line  334,  above. 

Line  76. — In  short,  French  was  the  language,  etc.  The  remainder 
of  this  paragraph  might  well  be  learned  by  heart — or,  better,  the 
substance  of  it  mastered — as  a  lesson  in  the  history  of  the  English 
language. 

Page  40,  line  97. —  The  Roman  soldiery.  Britain  was  invaded  by 
the  Romans  under  Julius  Caesar  in  the  year  55  B.C.  It  was  gradu- 
ally brought  under  Roman  rule,  and  remained  a  province  of  the  em- 
pire until  about  420  A.D.,  or  a  short  time  previous  to  the  Saxon  con- 
quest. Traces  of  the  Roman  occupation  remain  in  many  parts  of 
the  country — fortified  camps,  roads,  ruins  of  houses,  baths,  altars, 
weapons,  tools,  pottery,  coins,  inscriptions,  etc.  Many  names  of 
places  are  also  Roman  ;  as,  for  example,  all  ending  in  -caster,  -cester, 
and  -chester,  which  endings  are  corruptions  of  the  Latin  caslra,  a 
camp. 

Line   112. — Druidical  superstition.     Druidism  appears   to   have 


STONEHENGE. 


'38 


NOTES. 


been  common  to  all  nations  of  the  Celtic  race,  to  which  the  ancient 
Britons  belonged.  The  Druids  were  not  only  priests  and  teachers 
of  religion,  but  also  magistrates  and  judges.  The  oak-tree  was  es- 
pecially sacred  among  them,  and  many  of  their  rites  were  performed 
in  oak-groves.  The  structures  mentioned  by  Scott  are  found  in 
various  parts  of  the  British  Isles,  and  have  been  generally  supposed 
to  be  Druidical  monuments  ;  but  this  is  by  no  means  certain.  One 
of  the  most  remarkable  collections  of  the  kind  is  at  Stonehenge  near 
Salisbury  in  the  southern  part  of  England.  The  cut  gives  an  idea 
of  it  The  isolated  stone  in  the  foreground,  known  as  the  "  Friar's 
Heel,"  is  sixteen  feet  high.  The  other  cut  shows  a  cromlech  (as  one 


CROMLECH. 


form  of  these  supposed  Druidical  remains  is  called)  on  Ridge  Hill, 
near  Abbotsbury,  a  small  town  about  ten  miles  northwest  of  Port- 
land. 

Page  42,  line  155. — A  Sheffield  whittle.  The  poet  Chaucer, 
writing  about  five  hundred  years  ago,  mentions  "  a  Sheffield  thwit- 
el,"  or  whittle. 

Page  44.  line  191. — A  cap,  etc.  From  this  portion  of  the  do- 
mestic fool's  costume,  the  "  cap  and  bells  "  has  become  the  symbol 
of  folly.  Thus,  in  Lowell's  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal  we  read  : 

"  At  the  devil's  booth  are  all  things  sold, 
Each  ounce  of  dross  costs  its  ounce  of  gold ; 
For  a  cap  and  bells  our  lives  we  pay,"  etc. 


SHERWOOD  FOREST. 


139 


Page  45,  line  213. — Harlequin.  One  of  the  chief  characters  in 
the  pantomime  which  is  a  regular  feature  of  Christmas  festivities  in 
England.  He  wears  a  tight  dress  covered  with  spangles,  and  his 
wooden  sword  is  supposed  to  be  a  magic  one.  The  sword  of  lath 
with  which  the  jester  is  here  equipped  is  a  relic  of  the  old  "  morali- 
ties," or  moral  plays,  in  which  the  fool,  or  Vice,  as  he  was  called, 
carried  a  dagger  of  lath,  with  which  he  used  to  attack  the  devil,  who 
also  figured  in  these  rude  early  dramas.  We  have  several  allusions 
to  this  Vice  in  Shakespeare ;  as,  for  instance,  in  Twelfth  Nig/it,  iv. 

2.  134: 

"  Like  to  the  old  Vice, 

Who,  with  dagger  of  lath, 
In  his  rage  and  his  wrath, 
Cries,  ah,  ha !  to  the  devil,"  etc. 

Page  46?  line  247. —  The  two-legged  wolf.  A  jocose  metaphor  for 
a  robber.  True  man,  in  old  English,  was  equivalent  to  honest  man, 
and  is  often  found  opposed  to  thief ;  as  in  Shakespeare,  i  Henry  IV. 
ii.  2.  98  :  "  The  thieves  have  bound  the  true  men  ;"  Cymbeline,  ii.  3. 
76  :  "  Which  makes  the  true  man  kill'd,  and  saves  the  thief,"  etc. 

Page  47?  line  261. — An  thou  beest.  If  you  are.  Beest  is  the  old 
subjunctive  form.  It  was  also  often  used  in  the  indicative ;  as  in 
Hamlet,  iii.  2.  32  :  "  O,  there  be  players  that  I  have  seen  play,"  etc. 
Sometimes  we  find  be  and  is  in  immediate  succession  j  as  in  Richard 
III.  iv.  4.  92  : 

"  Where  is  thy  husband?    Where  lie  thy  brothers? 
Where  are  thy  children?" 

When  a  boy  says  now  "  Where  be  they  ?"  it  is  a  vulgarism ;  but, 
\ike  many  other  vulgarisms  (double  negatives  and  the  confounding 
vf  who  and  which,  for  example),  it  was  once  good  English. 

Thou  was  formerly  used  in  addressing  inferiors,  as  by  a  master  in 
speaking  to  a  servant.  It  was  also  common  between  equals,  espe- 
cially if  they  were  on  familiar  terms  ;  but  to  use  it  in  speaking  to  a 
stranger  who  was  not  an  inferior  was  an  insult.  Many  examples  of 
the  distinction  might  be  given ;  as  in  Shakespeare's  Julius  Ccesar  (v. 
5.  33)  where  Brutus  says  : 

"  Farewell  to  you, — and  you, — and  you,  Volumnius; 
Farewell  to  thee  too,  Strato ;" 

where  the  persons  first  addressed  are  his  friends,  but  Strato  is  a 
servant.  So  in  King  Lear  (iv.  6.  32),  Edgar,  disguised  as  a  peasant, 
says  to  the  noble  Gloster:  "Now  fare  yoit  well,  good  sir;"  and 
Gloster  replies  :  "  No\v,/eHow,  fare  thee  well."  See  also  on  page  86, 
line  58,  below. 


140  NOTES. 

Line  266. — I  have  consulted  my  legs,  etc.  Wamba  personifies  his 
legs  (see  on  p.  17,  line  53)  in  a  merry  way. 

Line  273. — Converted  into  Normans,  etc.  The  dialogue  that  fol- 
lows is  an  excellent  lesson  in  language,  and  has  several  times  been 
quoted  in  the  larger  grammars  and  works  on  the  history  of  our 
English  tongue. 

Page  48,  line  284. — And  drawn,  and  quartered,  and  hungup  by 
the  heels,  like  a  traitor.  There  is  an  allusion  here  to  the  ancient 
punishment  of  a  traitor  by  "  hanging,  drawing,  and  quartering;"  the 
victim  being  disembowelled  {drawn  is  still  used  in  this  sense  in  con- 
nection with  dressing  fowls)  and  cut  into  pieces  after  being  hung. 
In  the  time  of  George  III.  this  penalty  for  treason  was  changed  to 
"  drawing  the  criminal  on  a  hurdle  to  the  place  of  execution,  hang- 
ing him,  and  dividing  his  body  into  quarters."  This  will  explain 
the  seemingly  inconsistent  explanations  of  "  hanging,  drawing,  and 
quartering,"  given  in  dictionaries  and  encyclopaedias. 

Page  49,  line  318. —  This  second  Eumceiis.  Here  we  have  a 
"Classical  allusion,"  as  it  is  called.  When  Ulysses  after  his  long 
wanderings  returns  to  his  home  in  the  disguise  of  an  aged  beggar,  he 
is  kindly  received  by  the  faithful  Eumaeus,  who  afterwards  helps  him 
to  regain  possession  of  his  kingdom. 


CEDRIC  THE  SAXON,  AND  ROWENA. 

Page  51,  line  32. — Chimneys.  In  the  time  of  Richard  I.  chim- 
neys like  our  modern  ones  were  just  coming  into  use  in  England, 
and  their  construction  was  very  rude  and  imperfect. 

Line  46. — Our  modern  barns.  That  is,  English  and  Scotch  barns, 
the  floors  of  which  are  often  made  in  the  manner  described. 

Page  53,  line  94. — Blue  eyes.  These,  like  the  yellow  hair  (line 
102),  were  characteristic  of  the  Saxon  race.  As  the  poet  says: 

"  from  the  bleak  coast  that  hears 
The  German  Ocean  roar,  deep-blooming,  strong, 
And  yellow-haired,  the  blue-eyed  Saxon  came." 

Page  55,  line  154. — Balder.  In  the  Northern  mythology,  Bal- 
der, or  Baldur,  was  a  son  of  the  god  Odin,  or  Woden,  from  whom 
our  Wednesday  ( Woden1  s-day)  gets  its  name.  For  the  story  of  Bal- 
der's  death,  see  Longfellow's  poem  entitled  Tegner's  Drapa. 

Line  159. — Evening  mass.  Some  critics  have  found  fault  with 
Shakespeare  for  referring  to  "evening  mass  "  in  Romeo  and  Juliet, 
iv.  1. 38 ;  but  mass  is  occasionally  celebrated  in  the  evening  in  the 


CEDRIC  THE  SAXON,  AND  ROWENA.          I4I 

Roman  Catholic  Church  (see  our  edition  of  R.  and  J.  p.  200).  In 
the  present  passage  vespers  may  be  meant. 

Page  56,  line  189. — Knights  Templars.  A  celebrated  order  of 
knights,  founded  at  Jerusalem  in  the  early  part  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, for  the  protection  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  and  pilgrims  visiting 
it.  Their  dress  was  a  white  robe  (see  p.  57,  line  228)  with  a  red 
Maltese  cross  on  the  left  shoulder.  Their  war-cry  was  "  Beau  sc- 
ant "  (literally  "good  sitting  "),  and  their  banner,  called  by  the  same 
name,  was  white  striped  with  black.*  Their  badges  were  the  lamb 
and  cross  (the  Agnus  Dei)  and  a  device  of  two  knights  on  one  horse 
— emblematic  of  the  poverty  of  the  order  in  its  early  days  (see  page 
76,  line  429,  below).  After  the  conquest  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Sara- 
cens, the  Templars  spread  all  over  Europe  and  became  rich,  luxuri- 
ous, and  arrogant.  Their  degeneracy  led  to  the  suppression  of  the 
order  in  France,  and  later  in  other  countries,  their  property  being 
transferred  to  the  Knights  of  St.  John. 

Page  58,  line  253. —  Vows  are  the  knots,  etc.  What  figure  is 
this?  In  the  expression  that  follows  we  have  also  a  Scriptural 
allusion.  See  Psalms,  cxviii.  27. 

Line  256. — Unloosened.  Just  above  we  have  unloosed.  The  va- 
riation is  Scott's,  not  the  printer's. 

Line  260. — In  odor  of  sanctity.  With  the  reputation  of  a  saint; 
a  familiar  metaphor.  So  "  in  bad  odor  "  means  in  bad  repute. 

Page  59,  line  284. — His  -ward.  Cedric  was  the  guardian  of  Row- 
ena. 

Line  295. —  That  of  the  Eastern  sultanas.  The  use  of  that  is  not 
strictly  grammatical ;  neither  would  those  be  just  right,  as  benuty  is 
not  the  abstract  noun,  but  the  concrete — meaning  a  beautiful  person, 
not  beauty  as  a  quality.  If  Scott  had  written  "  on  the  beauty  of  the 
Saxon  lady,"  it  would  be  correctly  followed  by  "  that  of  the  Eastern 
sultanas." 

Page  60,  line  301. — Sate  enshrined.     What  is  the  figure  here  ? 

Line  303. — Capable  to  kindle.  Good  usage  would  favor  "  capable 
of  kindling."  This  "  indefinite  use  of  the  infinitive,"  as  it  is  some- 
times called,  was  more  common  formerly  than  it  is  at  present. 

Page  61,  line  329. —  The  dark  caverns,  etc.  His  deep-set  eyes 
are  indirectly  compared  to  fires  in  dark  caverns. 

Line  342. —  Which  are  to  meet.  The  collective  noun  train  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  plural  relative,  referring  to  the  persons  that  make  up  the 
train ;  but  in  such  a  case  -who  would  be  better  than  which. 

*  A  horse  marked  with  black  and  white  was  called  beau-seant ;  hence  the  ap- 
plication of  the  term  to  this  banner. 


1 42  NOTES. 


TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE. 

The  town  of  Ashby-de-la-Zouche,  as  it  is  called  to  distinguish  it 
from  the  many  other  places  named  Ashby,  is  in  Leicestershire,  about 
twenty  miles  northwest  of  Leicester.  The  ancient  castle,  now  in 
ruins,  is  the  scene  of  some  of  the  most  interesting  portions  of 
Scott's  Ivanhoe.  About  a  mile  to  the  west  of  the  town  is  a  small 
plain  which  Scott  is  supposed  to  have  had  in  mind  as  the  place 
where  this  tournament  is  held.  The  Lords  of  Ashby  were  great 
patrons  of  such  passages  at  arms,  and  the  field  of  Ashby  was  one  of 
the  most  noted  in  England. 

Page  02,  line  19. —  Trumpets.  That  is,  trumpeters  ;  the  instru- 
ment being  put  for  the  person.  Compare  Shakespeare,  3  Henry 
VI.  v.  I.  16  :  "Go,  trumpet,  to  the  walls,  and  sound  a  parle  "  (par- 
ley). For  the  figure,  see  on  page  3,  line  61,  above.  Metonymy  in- 
cludes a  great  variety  of  cases  in  which  one  word  is  put  for  another 
associated  with  it  or  suggesting  it ;  as  the  cause  for  the  effect,  the 
sign  for  the  thing  signified,  a  part  for  the  whole,  an  individual  for  a 
class  or  species,  etc.,  or  vice  versa.* 

Heralds  were  officers  whose  business  it  was  to  conduct  tourna- 
ments as  well  as  other  celebrations  of  a  formal  and  ceremonious 
character — royal  cavalcades,  coronations,  marriages,  etc.  Pursui- 
vants were  attendants  on  the  heralds,  to  assist  them  in  their  duties. 

Line  21. —  The  quality  of  the  knights.  That  is,  their  rank  and 
title. 

Page  64,  line  70. —  The  pit  of  a  theatre.  The  lower  floor  of  a 
theatre,  formerly  called  the  fit,  used  to  be  considered  the  least  de- 
sirable part  of  the  house  and  was  given  up  to  the  poorer  class  of 
spectators. 

Page  66,  line  125. — Burghers.  Inhabitants  of  a  burgh,  borough, 
or  town,  of  a  rank  corresponding  to  that  of  \\\z.  yeomen  in  the  coun- 
try. It  is  equivalent  to  burgesses  on  p.  69. 

Line  129.  Dog  of  an  unbeliever.  The  metaphor  is  contemptu- 
ous, like  whelp  of  a  she- wolf  below. 

Line  137. — Gaberdine.     This  garment  was  much  worn  by  Jews. 


*  Most  rhetoricians  make  a  distinction  between  metonymy  and  synecdoche,  put- 
ting all  forms  of  "  a  part  for  the  whole  "  under  the  latter ;  but  as  Prof.  A.  S.  Hill 
says  in  his  excellent  Principles  of  Rhetoric,  "  there  is  no  important  distinctioit 
between  synecdoche  and  metonymy." 


TOURNAMENT  AT  ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCHE. 


143 


Shylock,  in  the  Merchant  of  Venice  (1.3. 113),  speaks  of  his  "Jewish 
gaberdine." 

Page  (J7,  line  170. —  White  as  pearl.  What  is  the  figure?  What 
would  it  be  if  Scott  had  written  "  her  teeth  of  pearl  ?" 

Page  69,  line  222. — Largesse,  largesse.  As  Scott  says,  this  was 
the  cry  with  which  the  heralds  acknowledged  the  gifts  made  to 
them ;  but  they  seem  also  to  have  used  it  in  expectation  of  receiv- 
ing such  gifts,  or  as  a  hint  that  the  largess  would  be  welcome. 

Page  72,  line  306. —  To  break  the 'weapon  athwart,  etc.  We  often 
find  in  Shakespeare  and  other  writers  of  that  day  figurative  refer- 
ences to  this  clumsiness.  For  instance,  in  Mttch  Ado  about  Nothing 
(v.  i.  139),  where  Benedick  and  Claudio  are  engaged  in  a  contest  of 
wit,  the  former  says  :  "  Sir,  I  shall  meet  your  wit  in  the  career,  an 
you  charge  it  against  me  :  I  pray  you  choose  another  subject."  Clau- 
dio replies  sarcastically:  "Nay,  then,  give  him  another  staff;  this 
last  was  broke  cross." 

Line  325. — Applauses.  Expressions  of  applause ;  a  use  of  the 
plural  somewhat  uncommon,  though  we  use  praises,  congratulations, 
etc.,  in  a  similar  way. 

Page  76,  line  445. —  With  the  shock  of  a  thunderbolt.  That  is,  as 
with  the  shock,  etc.  What  is  the  figure  ? 

Page  77,  line  452. — Stemed  to  flash  fire.  The  use  of  seemed  makes 
the  figure  a  simile. 

Line  472. — Fair  and  forcibly.  For  the  alliteration,  see  on  page  9, 
line  239,  above. 

Line  481. —  The  bars.     That  is,  the  bars  of  the  front  of  the  helmet. 

Page  78,  line  489. — Stutig.     Note  the  figurative  use  of  the  word. 

Page  82,  line  597. —  The  Wurdour  Manuscript.  The  source  from 
which  the  author  of  Ivanhoe  professed  to  have  drawn  his  materials. 
Of  these  he  says,  in  the  "  dedicatory  epistle  "  of  the  novel :  "  They 
may  be  chiefly  found  in  the  singular  Anglo-Norman  MS.  which  Sir 
Arthur  Wardour  preserves  with  such  jealous  care  in  the  third  drawer 
of  his  oaken  cabinet,  scarcely  allowing  any  one  to  touch  it,  and  being 
himself  not  able  to  read  one  syllable  of  its  contents." 

Line  608. — Gradually  and  gracefully.  Of  what  is  this  an  exam- 
ple ? 


144  NOTES. 


ARCHERY— ROBIN  HOOD. 

Page  84,  line  24. — Saint  Hubert.  According  to  the  legend,  Hu- 
bert was  a  gay  French  nobleman,  who  was  so  fond  of  the  chase  that 
he  followed  it  even  on  fast-days.  While  hunting  in  the  Forest  of 
Ardennes  during  Holy  Week,  he  met  with  a  milk-white  stag  bearing 
a  crucifix  between  its  horns.  Overcome  with  awe  and  contrition,  he 
became  a  hermit  in  the  forest,  and  preached  Christianity  to  the 
robbers  and  outlaws  who  infested  it.  Afterwards  he  studied  for  the 
priesthood,  and  was  eventually  made  bishop  of  Liege  in  Belgium. 
He  was  buried  in  the  church  of  St.  Peter  in  that  city,  but  his  body 
was  afterwards  removed  to  the  abbey  church  of  the  Benedictines  of 
Ardennes.  He  is  the  patron  of  the  chase  and  of  dogs,  and  chapels 
are  erected  to  him  in  forests  for  the  use  of  devout  huntsmen. 

Page  85,  line  27. —  The  royal  forests  of  Needwood  and  Charnwood. 
The  former  of  these  forests  is  in  Staffordshire.  In  the  time  of  Eliz- 
abeth it  was  twenty-four  miles  in  circumference,  but  comparatively 
small  portions  of  it  now  remain.  The  most  picturesque  of  these  are 
between  Burton-on-Trent  and  the  river  Dove.  Ckarmvood  Forest 
is  between  Ashby-de-la-Zouche  and  Leicester,  but  is  greatly  changed 
from  its  ancient  condition,  when  "a  squirrel  might  hop  six  miles 
from  tree  to  tree  without  touching  the  ground,  and  a  traveller  might 
journey  from  Beaumanoir  to  Bardon  on  a  summer  day  without  once 
seeing  the  sun." 

Line  34. — Newmarket.  This  "cradle  of  horse-racing"  is  partly 
in  Cambridgeshire  and  partly  in  Suffolk.  Seven  race-meetings  oc- 
cur here  during  the  year,  while  no  other  town  in  England  can  boast 
more  than  two.  The  population  is  largely  made  up  of  horse-jock- 
eys, trainers,  and  persons  otherwise  concerned  with  "  the  turf." 

Page  86,  line  58. —  Your  grace.  Observe  that  Locksley,  in  ad- 
dressing the  Prince,  uses  the  pronoun  you,  while  the  Prince  uses 
than  in  speaking  to  him.  See  on  page  47,  line  261,  above. 

Line  66. — Carriest.     Dost  carry  off,  or  win. 

Page  87,  line  88. — A  shot  at  rovers.  Shooting  at  such  long 
range  that  the  arrow  was  not  aimed  point-blank  but  with  an  eleva- 
tion. Strong  and  heavy  arrows,  called  rovers,  were  employed  in 
such  archery. 

Line  108. — Sith.  The  full  form  of  the  word  was  siihence,  which 
Shakespeare  uses  in  Coriolanns,  iii.  i.  47  :  "  Have  you  informed 
them  sithence?" 


THE  SIEGE  OF  TORQUILSTONE.  I45 

Page  89,  line  156. —  Which  it  split  to  shivers.  In  the  Lady  of 
the  Lake  (v.  621)  Douglas  performs  a  similar  feat  in  the  archery 
contest  at  Stirling : 

"  The  Douglas  drew  a  bow  of  might, — 
His  first  shaft  centred  in  the  white, 
And  when  in  turn  he  shot  again, 
His  second  split  the  first  in  twain." 

Page  90,  line  194. — I  give  him  the  bucklers.  Shakespeare  uses 
the  same  expression  figuratively  in  Much  Ado  (v.  I.  17),  where  Bene- 
dick says  to  Margaret :  "  I  give  thee  the  bucklers ;"  that  is,  I  give 
up  the  contest  of  wit. 

Line  197. — Shoot  at  the  edge  of  our  parson's  whittle.  So  Jack  Fal- 
staff  (in  Shakespeare's  2  Henry  IV.  iii.  2.  286)  says  of  the  slender 
Shadow  :  "  give  me  this  man  :  he  presents  no  mark  to  the  enemy  ; 
the  foeman  may  with  as  great  aim  level  at  the  edge  of  a  penknife." 

Line  201. — Cowardly  dog  !    Compare  page  66,  line  129,  above. 

Page  91,  line  226. —  Your  royal  brother.  John  was  the  younger 
brother  of  Richard  I.,  who  had  conferred  upon  him  earldoms  amount- 
ing to  nearly  a  third  of  the  kingdom.  John  nevertheless  endeav- 
ored to  seize  the  crown  during  Richard's  captivity  in  Austria.  His 
brother  pardoned  this  treachery,  and  when  dying  is  said  to  have 
named  John  as  his  successor. 


THE  SIEGE  OF  TORQUILSTONE. 

Page  93,  line  22. — As  -well,  and  better  than  he  could  have  ex- 
pected. The  grammatical  construction  is  incomplete.  It  should 
read,  "  as  well  as,  and  better  than,"  etc.,  or,  preferably,  "  as  well  as 
he  could  have  expected,  and  better." 

Page  94,  line  49. — Heavy  yet  hasty.  Besides  the  alliteration  (of 
which  we  have  noted  only  a  few  out  of  many  instances  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages),  we  have  here  an  example  of  antithesis  (a  Greek  word 
meaning  a  setting  against  or  opposite),  the  contrast  or  opposition 
of  words  or  sentiments.  It  is  a  forcible  figure  if  judiciously  used. 
Compare  Pope's  familiar  line,  "  To  err  is  human,  to  forgive  divine ;" 
and  his  translation  from  Horace,  "  He  's  armed  without  that 's  inno- 
cent within,"  etc.  See  also  line  60  below. 

Page  96,  line  82. — The  distant  muttering  of  the  storm,  etc.  Is 
this  literal  or  figurative  language? 

Page  98,  line  138. —  Who  they  be.    See  on  page  47,  line  261, 
above. 
10 


I46  NOTES. 

Line  148. — Azure.  The  heraldic  term  for  blue  ;  as  gules  for  red, 
•vert  for  green,  sable  for  black,  etc. 

Line  150. — It  might  now  be  mine  own.  Referring  in  a  half-sport- 
ive way  to  his  imprisonment. 

Page  99,  line  175. — Beau-seant!  See  on  page  56,  line  189, 
above. 

Page  100,  line  194. — Armor  of  proof .  This  use  of  proof  was  a 
technical  term,  implying  that  the  armor  had  been  proved,  or  tested, 
or  would  bear  the  proof  of  actual  service  in  war.  The  word  is  some- 
times put,  by  metonymy,  for  the  armor  itself,  as  in  Shakespeare's 

Richard  III.  v.  3.  219 : 

"  ten  thousand  soldiers, 
Armed  in  proof,  and  led  by  shallow  Richmond." 

Page  101,  line  229. — Blench  from  the  helm,  etc.  Shrink  from, 
or  desert  it.  Translate  the  figurative  into  literal  language ;  and 
also  in  lines  241-243  below. 

Page  102,  line  251. — Holy  prophets  of  the  law!  Note  that  all 
the  exclamations  of  Rebecca  are  in  keeping  with  her  Jewish  national- 
ity. Contrast  with  these  the  language  of  Ivanhoe  on  the  next  page, 
lines  290,  299,  etc. 

Line  267. — Like  an  oak,  etc.  Name  and  explain  the  figure.  In 
steel  we  have  a  form  of  metonymy — the  material  put  for  the  thing 
made  of  it. 

Page  103,  line  283. —  Thine  own  image.  A  Scriptural  allusion. 
See  Genesis,  i.  26. 

Line  288. — Like  crushed  reptiles.  Point  out  another  example  of 
the  same  figure  on  this  page. 

Line  305. — O  men,  if  ye  be  indeed  men,  etc.  Observe  that  this  is 
not  actually  said  to  the  soldiers  outside,  who  could  not  hear  her 
voice,  even  if  she  dared  to  make  herself  known  to  them  at  this  time. 
It  is  an  example  of  the  rhetorical  figure  called  apostrophe  (a  Greek 
word  meaning  a  turning  away),  which  is  a  turning  aside  from  the  di- 
rect discourse  to  address  some  other  person,  often  not  present,  or 
some  thing  which  is  personified.  Thus  Byron,  in  his  poem  of 
Childe  Harold,  introduces  the  famous  apostrophe  to  the  ocean,  be- 
ginning "  Roll  on,  thou  deep  and  dark  blue  ocean,  roll !"  Of  course 
the  ocean  must  be  viewed  as  an  intelligent  being,  or  personified,  be- 
fore it  can  be  addressed.  In  the  present  passage,  the  apostrophe  is 
merely  an  indirect  or  figurative  way  of  expressing  Rebecca's  earnest 
wish  that  the  victors  might  spare  the  vanquished.  She  would  plead 
thus  with  them  if  it  were  possible  to  do  so. 

Page  104,  line  330. — On  a  field-sable.  On  a  black  surface;  the 
language  of  heraldry.  See  on  page  98,  line  148,  above. 


THE  SIEGE  OF  TORQUILSTONE.  147 

105,  line  366. — Melee.  Confused  conflict ;  a  French  word, 
literally  meaning  a  mixture.  It  has  been  Anglicized  (or  made  an 
English  word)  as  mellay  or  melley,  which  is  used  in  poetry,  and  oc- 
casionally in  prose.  See,  for  example,  Tennyson's  Princess,  v.  491 : 
"  He  rode  the  mellay,  lord  of  the  ringing  lists  ;"  and  one  of  Mr.  W. 
H.  Russell's  Crimean  letters  to  the  London  Times :  "  crowded  to- 
gether in  one  indiscriminate  melley." 

Note  the  figures  in  this  passage,  and  in  lines  371,  372  below, 
where  there  is  also  a  Scriptural  allusion.  The  next  page  abounds  in 
examples  of  figurative  language.  Observe  the  personification  of 
Chivalry  in  405  and  the  lines  that  follow. 

Page  108,  line  455. — Gray  hairs.  What  form  of  metonymy  have 
we  here  ?  See  on  page  62,  line  19,  above. 

Page  109,  line  494. — Mount  joy  e,  Saint  Denis  !  More  correctly 
Montjoye  (or  Montjoie)  Saint  Denis !  This  French  war-cry  dates 
back  at  least  to  the  fifth  century.  We  have  met  with  no  explana- 
tion of  its  origin. 

Page  111,  line  549. —  Well  and  chivalrous.  The  adverbial  use 
of  chivalrous  seems  to  be  in  imitation  of  the  old  confusion  of  adjec- 
tive and  adverb  of  which  we  have  many  examples  in  Shakespeare 
and  earlier  writers.  Compare  fair  and  true,  page  77,  line  480,  above. 

Page  112,  line  573. — I  yield  me.  I  yield  myself.  The  use  of 
the  personal  pronoun  for  the  reflexive  was  once  common,  but  is  now 
admissible  only  in  poetry  or,  as  here,  in  imitation  of  the  language  of 
the  olden  time. 

Line  596. — Dispirited  and  despairing.  Of  what  is  this  an  exam- 
ple ? 

Page  113,  line  612. — Prevented  from  observing  either.  This  is 
the  reading  of  the  standard  editions  of  Ivanhoe,  but  there  is  either 
some  corruption  of  the  text  or  carelessness  in  composition.  It  is 
not  clear  to  what  either  refers.  The  most  plausible  explanation  is 
that  it  means  either  party — the  assailants  or  the  defenders. 

Page  114,  line  642. — Recks.  Cares  ;  now  little  used  except  in 
poetry.  Reckless,  which  is  derived  from  it,  was  in  constant  use  down 
to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  but  fifty  years  later  it  had  be- 
come so  nearly  obsolete  that  Dr.  Richard  Hooker  (1553-1600)  thought 
it  necessary  to  explain  its  meaning  in  a  marginal  note.  It  was  after- 
wards revived,  and  is  now  familiar  to  every  English-speaking  person. 
Reck  was  formerly  used  impersonally  also ;  as  in  Milton's  Cotnus, 
404  :  "  Of  night  or  loneliness  it  recks  me  not ;"  that  is,  I  do  not  care 
for  them,  or  regard  them. 

Line  652. — Hound  of  the  Temple.  Compare  page  66,  line  129,  and 
page  90,  line  201.  Metaphors  taken  from  the  names  of  animals  are 


148  NOTES. 

commonv  not  only  in  books  but  in  every-day  speech.  Such  use  of 
hog,  bear,  fox,  goose,  etc.,  will  occur  to  young  people  at  once,  and  they 
can  easily  make  out  a  long  list  of  similar  names.  Sometimes  the 
metaphor  takes  the  form  of  a  verb  ;  as  in  dog,  to  follow  like  a  dog. 
Compare  Comtis,  405  (the  next  line  to  the  one  quoted  in  the  pre- 
ceding note)  :  "  I  fear  the  dread  events  that  dog  them  both." 


THE  TRIAL  OF  REBECCA  THE  JEWESS. 

Brian  de  Bois-Guilbert  has  carried  Rebecca  against  her  will  to 
Templestowe,  an  establishment  of  the  Templars,  contrary  to  the 
rule  forbidding  a  woman  to  be  lodged  in  any  of  their  houses.  The 
fact  is  discovered  by  the  Grand  Master,  and  the  Templar,  in  order 
that  he  may  escape  the  penalty  he  has  incurred,  allows  the  Jewess 
to  be  accused  of  exercising  a  magic  power  over  him. 

Magic  and  witchcraft  were  generally  believed  in,  even  by  the  most 
learned  men,  at  that  time  and  for  centuries  afterwards.  It  was  not 
until  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  that  any  English  writer 
ventured  to  attack  the  popular  belief.  In  1584  Reginald  Scot  pub- 
lished his  Discoverie  of  Witchcraft,  in  which  he  exposed  the  preten- 
sions of  the  magicians  ;  but  he  made  many  enemies  by  it.  His  book 
was  received  with  much  less  favor  than  King  James's  Demonology, 
brought  out  a  few  years  later,  in  which  sorcery  and  witchcraft  were 
treated  as  sober  realities.  Executions  of  persons  charged  with  being 
witches  took  place  in  Europe  as  late  as  1793  (a  hundred  years  after 
the  "Salem  witchcraft"  here);  and  no  longer  ago  than  1863  a  re- 
puted wizard  was  drowned  in  a  pond  at  Hedingham,  England,  by  a 
mob  of 'his  neighbors. 

Page  118,  line  69. — Advantage.  Rarely  used  as  a  verb  now,  but 
formerly  common  enough.  Compare  Shakespeare's  Julius  Ccesar,  iii. 
I.  242  :  "  It  shall  advantage  more  than  do  us  wrong." 

Line  So. — Affirmance.  Affirmation ;  rarely  used  except  in  legal 
language. 

Weigh  down.  For  the  figure  compare  page  40,  line  71,  and  page 
122,  line  188. 

Page  121,  line  161. —  Vessel  of  perdition.  Probably  suggested  by 
"  vessel  of  wrath  "  in  Romans,  ix.  22. 

Line  166. — Repentance  not  to  be  repented  of .  See  2  Corinthians, 
vii.  10. 

Page  122,  line  183. — As  this  thin  and  light  glove,  etc.  Here  we 
have  the  full  and  formal  statement  of  the  simile.  Note  how  aptly 


THE  TRIAL  OF  REBECCA   THE  JEWESS.       149 

Rebecca  turns  the  figure  against  Eeaumanoir  in  her  reply,  which 
also  illustrates  the  difference  between  the  simile  and  the  metaphor. 

Line  206. — Foughten.  Shakespeare  uses  this  old  participle  once, 
in  Henry  V.  iv.  6. 18 :  "  this  glorious  and  well-foughten  field."  Tenny- 
son imitates  him,  using  the  expression  "  foughten  field  "  no  less  than 
three  times  in  his  poems. 

Line  210. — Him  to  whom  an  instant  is  as  effectual,  etc.  Scott 
seems  to  have  had  in  mind  Psalm  xc.  4. 

Page  123,  line  215. — If  it  so  hap.  That  is,  happen,  come  to 
pass.  Hap,  whether  as  verb  or  noun,  is  now  seldom  used  except  in 
poetry. 

Line  231. — Doom.  Judgment,  sentence.  See  on  page  4,  line  94, 
above. 


BRONZE   CAST   OF    THE    HEAD   OF  SIR   WALTER   SCOTT   AFTER    DEATH,  FROM 
PHOTOGRAPH. 


SCOTT'S  STUDY. 


INDEX  OF  WORDS  AND  PHRASES 
EXPLAINED. 


a  la  rescousse  (ah-lah-res-coos"),  99. 

advantage  (verb),  148. 

adventurous  swords,  135. 

affirmance,  148. 

agraffe,  68. 

allegory,  131. 

alliteration,  129,  143,  145. 

an  (=if),  47.  J39- 

antithesis,  145. 

apostrophe,  146. 

applauses,  143. 

armor  of  proof,  146. 

arms  (heraldic),  28,  134. 

as  well  .  .  .  than,  145. 

As  You  Like  It,  128. 

ascetic,  120. 

Ashby-de-la-Zouche  (zoosft),  56,  142. 

Asphaltites,  Lake,  134. 

assoilzie,  104. 

at  full  career.  135. 

athwart  (of  a  lance),  72,  143. 

azure  (heraldic),  146. 

Balder,  140. 

baldric,  84. 

bandeau  (bdn-do'),  44. 

barbican,  97. 

barriers  (of  castle),  101. 

bartisan,94. 

be  l=is),  139,^145. 

beau  seant  (&o-sa-ahng'),  141,  146. 

beech-mast,  46. 

beleaguered,  94. 

Belial,  man  of,  118. 

blench,  146. 

blue  eyes  (Saxon),  140. 

brave  (=excellent),  91. 

Bruce  the  bold,  128- 

bucklers,  to  give  the,  90,  145. 

burgesses,  69. 

burghers,  142. 

cabalistical,  117. 

caftan,  31. 

Campagna  (cam-pahn'-yaK),  the,  18. 

canon,  57. 

cap  and  bells,  138. 


cap-a-pie,  70. 

capitation  tax,  22. 

caracole,  67. 

career,  at  full,  135. 

earnest,  144- 

Cave,  adsunt  (cah'-va,  akd"-soonf),  79. 

champion,  119. 

Chamwood  Forest,  144. 

chase,  laws  of  the,  137. 

chimneys  (ancient),  140. 

Classical  allusion,  140. 

Clermont,  133. 

cloth-yard  shafts,  99. 

clout  (of  target),  89. 

connoisseur,  67- 

cope  (noun),  57. 

cornucopia,  132. 

couch  (a  spear),  31. 

couchant,  28. 

crest  (of  helmet),  134. 

cromlech,  138. 

cross  (of  sword),  135. 

Crusade,  25. 

demi-volte,  77. 

derring-do,  104. 

dog  (figurative),  142,  145,  148. 

Don  (river),  136. 

doom  (=judgment),  128,  149. 

doublet,  53. 

Dragon  of  Wantley,  136. 

drawn  and  quartered,  etc.,  140. 

drinking-horns,  59. 

Druidical,  40. 

Druidism,  137. 

Dryburgh  Abbey,  132. 

Eastern  Empire,  133. 

embrasure,  99. 

Emir.  33. 

emprize,  105. 

en  avant  (ahn  av-akng'},  99. 

ermine,  53. 

escutcheons,  70. 

Eumaeus  (Eu-me'-us),  49,  140. 

evening  mass,  140. 

exoteric,  12- 


INDEX  OF  WORDS  AND  PHRASES. 


fetterlock,  98. 

make  in,  109. 

feudal  tyranny,  136. 

malice  prepense,  46. 

Fielding,  131. 

tafUe  (ma-la),  147. 

field-sable,  146. 

mellay,  147. 

figurative,  129. 

merrymen,  85. 

flanked,  50. 

metaphor,  130,  131,  147. 

form  (in  school),  129. 

methought,  127. 

foughten,  122,  149. 

metonymy,  127,  142. 

• 

Mountjoye,  Saint  Denis,  147. 

gaberdine,  66,  142. 

murrain,  48. 

gage,  120. 

Galgacus  (GUI-go.'  -cus),  130. 

Nazarene,  35. 

gambadoes,  5. 

Needwood  Forest,  144. 

Gare  le  Corbeau  (g&r  Ifh  cdr-6o"),  76. 

Newmarket,  144. 

give  the  bucklers,  90,  145. 

noble  (coin),  86. 

gorget,  42. 

Norman,  30,  134. 

gramercy,  75. 

S-ammar-school,  n. 

odor  of  sanctity,  141. 

recian  Empire,  133. 
Gualterus  (Guahl-ta  '-rus),  129. 

Ossian,  130. 
outrance  (oo-ira/tns'),  68. 

hanging,  drawing,  and  quartering,  140. 
hap  (verb),  149. 

pennoncelle  (ftn-nin-sff),  28. 
personification,  132,  146. 

Harlequin,  45,  139- 

pit  (of  theatre),  142. 

harness  (=armor),  34. 

platanus-tree,  13. 

Hastings,  battle  of,  136. 

postern-gate,  97. 

hatchment,  106. 

Prestonpans,  128. 

hauberk,  28,  41. 

profane  (not  sacred),  130. 

Henry  II.,  136. 
heraldry,  134. 

proof  (of  armor),  100. 
Prophet,  the,  35. 

heralds,  142. 

pursuivants,  142. 

hership,  56. 

hind,  3. 
Holy  Sepulchre,  the,  133. 

quality  (=rank),  142. 
quantity  (misused),  129. 

Hospitaller,  74. 

quarter-staff,  49. 

hussar,  44. 

rangers,  85. 

infinitive,  indefinite,  141. 

reckless,  147. 

iron  (figurative),  135. 

recks  (=cares),  147. 

Red-cross  Knight,  133. 

J'erkin,  90. 

reed  (=shepherd's  pipe),  2. 

ohn,  Prince,  145. 

reliquary,  60. 

Reliqiies,  Percy's,  131. 

Kelso,  131. 

rest  (in  armor),  32. 

kirtle,  60. 

Richardson,  131. 

Knight  of  La  Mancha.  5. 

Romans  in  Britain,  137. 

Knights  Templars,  141. 

Roses,  Wars  of  the,  136. 

rovers  (arrows),  144. 

lady  (derivation),  52. 

largesse  (l&r-zltisf1),  69,  143. 

Saint  Denis,  109,  147. 

lay  spear  in  rest,  3  1,  120. 

Saint  Hilda,  58. 

Limoges,  no. 

Saint  Hubert,  144. 

Lincoln  green,  86. 

Saint  Jean  d'Acre,  103. 

lingua  franca,  34. 

Saint  Mary's  Aisle,  132. 

lists,  62. 

Saint  Withold,  46. 

lord  (derivation),  52. 

sallyport,  97. 

lurcher,  46. 

salvage  (=savage),  63. 

Saracens,  133. 

Maccabeus  (Mac-ca-be'-ui),  107. 

scarlet  ranks,  4. 

Mackenzie,  131. 

Scotland's  gentler  blood,  128. 

magic,  148. 

scrip,  42. 

Mahomet,  133. 

Scriptural  allusion,  129,  146. 

major-domo,  57. 

settles  (noun),  52. 

INDEX  OF   WORDS  AND  PHRASES. 


153 


shacklebolt,  98. 

Sheffield  whittle,  138. 

shepherd's  reed,  2. 

shot  at  rovers,  144. 

simarre  (si-m&r'),  67. 

simile,  131. 

sith,  87,  144. 

sithence,  144. 

sleights,  3. 

slow-hounds,  54. 

Smailholm  Tower,  2. 

Smollett,  131. 

Spenser,  130. 

squire,  30. 

station  (in  desert),  135. 

Stephen,  King,  136. 

Stonehenge,  138. 

strawberry-leaves  (ducal),  82. 

strength  (^stronghold),  3. 

surcoat,  28. 

swart,  58. 

thane.  53. 

thatch,  51. 

them  and  you,  139,  144. 

thrall  (—serf ),  42. 

timeless,  4. 

to  (omitted),  129. 

tournament,  56. 


trencher,  55. 

true  man,  139. 

trumpet  (=trumpeter),  142. 

truncheon,  55. 

two-legged  wolf,  139. 

undertake,  68. 
unicorn,  134. 

Veau  (vo),  Monsieur  de,  48. 
velvet  verdure,  135. 
vessel  of  perdition,  148. 

Wallace  wight,  127. 

Wardpur  Manuscript,  143. 

wassail-rout,  127. 

Wednesday  (derivation),  140. 

ween,  56. 

weight  of  armor,  134. 

well  and  chivalrous,  147. 

wend  we,  135. 

West-Riding,  41. 

whit,  71. 

whittle  (=knife),  42,90,  138,  145, 

wight  (=gallant),  3. 

yeomanry,  64. 

you  and  thoUi  139,  144- 


ARMS   OF   SIR   WALTER   SCOTT. 


TO  TEACHEES  OF  THE  ENGLISH  CLASSICS. 


COURSES  01  STUDY  IN  SHAKESPEARE. 

ARRANGED  WITH  REFERENCE  TO  THE  TIME  TO  BE 

DEVOTED  TO  THE  STUDY  OF  THE  POET,  AND 

ALSO  TO  THE  REQUIREMENTS  OF  THE 

LEADING  COLLEGES  AS  A  PART 

OF  THE   PREPARATION 

FOR  ADMISSION. 

THE  attention  of  classical  teachers  is  called  to  the  fact  that 
certain  plays  of  Shakespeare  are  now  required  by  most  of  our 
leading  colleges  as  a  part  of  the  preparation  for  admission. 
HARVARD  COLLEGE  (followed  by  DARTMOUTH,  TRINITY,  and 
WESLEYAN  UNIVERSITY)  specifies  Julius  Ccesar  and  Macbeth  for 
the  examination  of  1886,  Julius  Ccesar  and  the  Merchant  of  Ven- 
ice for  1887,  Julius  Ccesar  and  Twelfth  Night  for  1888,  and  Julius 
Ccesar  and  As  You  Like,  It  for  1889.  BROWN  UNIVERSITY  re- 
quires the  same,  except  that  the  Merchant  is  omitted  for  1887, 
and  Julius  Ccesar  and  the  Midsummer- Night's  Dream  are  added 
for  1890.  WILLIAMS  COLLEGE  follows  Harvard  for  1886  and 
1887,  no  announcement  being  made  as  yet  for  1888,  etc.  AM- 
HERST  COLLEGE  has  the  same  requirements  for  1886  and  1888, 
but  substitutes  As  You  Like  It  for  the  Merchant  in  1887.  TUFTS 
COLLEGE  follows  Harvard  for  1886,  1887,  and  1888,  with  the 
omission  of  Julius  Ccesar  in  1886.  BOSTON  UNIVERSITY  follows 
Harvard  for  1886,  the  only  year  announced.  THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  VERMONT  requires  only  Richard  III.  for  1886,  and  Julius 
Ccesar  for  1887. 

A  glance  at  the  catalogues  and  calendars  of  other  first-class 
institutions  throughout  the  country  will  show  that  the  majority 
of  them  are  also  requiring  a  knowledge  of  these  English  clas- 
sics for  admission  to  their  privileges. 

Mr.  Rolfe  often  receives  letters  from  teachers  asking  what 
plays  he  would  recommend  for  school  use,  and  in  what  order 
they  should  be  taken  up.  The  Merchant  was  the  first  play  he 
edited  for  schools,  because  he  regarded  it  as,  on  the  whole,  the 
best  to  begin  with  ;  though  for  classical  schools  he  would  prefer 
Julius  Ccesar,  which,  as  shown  above,  is  required  every  year  by 
the  great  majority  of  the  colleges.  If  two  plays  can  be  read,  the 
Merchant  and  Julius  Ccesar  may  be  commended,  or  either  of 


(2) 

these,  with  As  You  Like  It  (or  Macbeth,  which  is  the  shortest  of 
the  great  tragedies  and  the  best  for  an  ordinary  school  course). 
For  a  selection  of  three  plays,  take  the  Merchant  (or  Julius  Cce- 
sar),  As  You  Like  It  (or  Twelfth  Night  or  Much  Add),  and  Mac- 
beth. One  of  the  English  historical  plays  (King  John,  Richard 
II.,  Henry  IV.,  Part  I.,  or  Henry  V.)  may  be  substituted  for  the 
second  in  the  list,  if  preferred  ;  and  Hamlet,  which  is  about  twice 
as  long  as  Macbeth,  for  the  latter  play,  if  time  permits  and  the 
teacher  chooses.  If  a  fourth  play  is  wanted,  add  The  Tempest 
to  the  list.  Macbeth  and  The  Tempest  together  (4061  lines)  are 
but  a  trifle  longer  than  Hamlet  (3929  lines),  and  can  be  easily  read 
in  the  same  time.  For  a  fifth  play,  Hamlet,  Lear,  or  Coriolanus 
may  be  added;  or,  if  a  shorter  and  lighter  play  is  preferred, 
the  Midsummer- Night's  Dream,  which,  in  a  course  of  five  plays, 
might  well  be  put  first,  as  a  specimen  of  the  dramatist's  early 
work.  A  course  of  five  plays,  arranged  with  special  reference 
to  the  illustration  of  Shakespeare's  career  as  a  writer,  might  be 
this:  A  Midsummer- Night's  Dream  (early  comedy) ;  Richard  II., 
Henry  IV.,  Part  I.,  or  Henry  V.  (English  historical  period):  As 
You  Like  It,  Twelfth  Night,  or  Much  Ado  (later  comedy);  Mac- 
beth, Hamlet,  or  Lear  (period  of  the  great  tragedies) ;  and  The 
Tempest  or  Winters  Tale  (the  latest  plays,  or  "Romances"). 
For  a  series  of  six  plays,  instead  of  one  English  historical  play 
take  two:  Richard  III.,  Richard  II.,  or  King  John  (earlier  his- 
tory, 1593-1595),  and  Henry  IV.,  Part  I.,  or  Henry  V.  (later  his- 
tory, or  "history  and  comedy  united, "1597-1 599).  For  a  series 
of  seven,  insert  in  the  list  either  Romeo  and  Juliet  (early  tragedy) 
before  "early  history,"  or  the  Merchant  (middle  comedy)  after 
"early  history;"  and  for  a  series  of  eight,  include  both  these. 
Henry  VIII.  could  be  added  to  any  of  the  longer  series  as  a 
very  late  play,  of  which  Shakespeare  wrote  only  a  part,  and 
which  was  completed  by  Fletcher.  The  Taming  of  the  Shrew 
may  be  mentioned  incidentally  as  an  earlier  play  that  is  inter- 
esting as  being  partly  from  another  hand  than  Shakespeare's. 

Certain  plays,  like  Cymbeline,  Othello,  and  Antony  and  Cleopa- 
tra, are  not  to  be  commended  for  "mixed"  schools  or  classes, 
but  may  be  used  in  others  at  the  discretion  of  the  teacher. 

The  Sonnets  may  well  be  introduced  to  give  variety  to  any  ex- 
tended course  in  Shakespeare.  Young  people  always  get  inter- 
ested in  the  Sonnets,  if  their  attention  is  once  called  to  them. 
Rolfe's  Edition  is  in  all  respects  adapted  for  school  or  college  use. 

See  list  of  Rolfe's  English  Classics  on  following  page. 


ENGLISH  CLASSICS. 

EDITED  BY  WM.  J.  ROLFE,  A.M. 

Illustrated.     i6mo,  Cloth,  56  cents  per  vol. ;  Paper,  40 
cents  per  vol. 


SHAKESPEARE'S  WORKS: 

The  Merchant  of  Venice. — The  Tempest. — King  Henry 
the  Eighth. — Julius  Caesar. — King  Richard  the  Second. 
— Othello. — Macbeth. —  Romeo  and  Juliet. — A  Midsum- 
mer-Night's Dream. — King  Richard  the  Third. — King 
Henry  the  Fifth. —  Hamlet. —  As  You  Like  It. — Much 
Ado  About  Nothing. —  Twelfth  Night. —  The  Winter's 
Tale. — King  John. — King  Henry  the  Fourth.  Part  I. 
— King  Henry  the  Fourth.  Part  II. — King  Lear. — The 
Taming  of  the  Shrew.— All  's  Well  that  Ends  Well.— 
Coriolanus. — The  Comedy  of  Errors. — Cymbeline. — An- 
tony and  Cleopatra.  —  Measure  for  Measure.  —  Merry 
Wives  of  Windsor. — Love's  Labour  's  Lost. — Two  Gen- 
tlemen of  Verona.  —  Timon  of  Athens.  —  Troilus  and 
Cressida. — King  Henry  the  Sixth.  Part  I. — King  Henry 
the  Sixth.  Part  II.— King  Henry  the  Sixth.  Part  III. 
— Pericles,  Prince  of  Tyre. — The  Two  Noble  Kinsmen. 
— Poems. — Sonnets. — Titus  Andronicus. 

GOLDSMITH'S  SELECT  POEMS. 
GRAY'S  SELECT  POEMS. 

ROBERT  BROWNING'S  A  BLOT  IN  THE  'SCUTCH- 
EON, AND  OTHER  DRAMAS. 

ROBERT  BROWNING'S  SELECT  POEMS. 
MILTON'S  MINOR  POEMS. 
MACAULAY'S  LAYS  OF  ANCIENT  ROME. 


PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  NEW  YORK. 

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THE   WAVERLEY    NOVELS. 

Bv    SIR  WALTER    SCOTT,  BART. 


Each  of  the  following  editions  contains  the  full  number  of  2000  illustrations. 
They  are  printed  from  large  type,  on  handsome  paper,  and  are  the  cheapest,  best, 
and  most  legible  editions  of  these  favorite  novels  ever  offered  to  the  American  pec- 
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THISTLE  EDITION  :  48  volumes,  Green  Cloth,  $i  oo  per  volume.  (The 
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(The  volumes  sold  separately.)  Complete  Sets,  in  Half  Morocco,  Gilt  Tops  (48  vol- 
umes), $72  oo. 

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Roy.  2  vols. — Old  Mortality.  2  vols. — The  Heart  of  Mid-Lothian.  2  vols 

Ivanhoe.  2  vols. — The  Monastery.  2  vols. — The  Abbot.  2  vols. — Kenilworth. 
2  vols. — The  Pirate.  2  vols. — The  Fortunes  of  Nigel.  2  vols. — Quentin  Durward. 
2  vols. — St.  Ronan's  Well.  2  vols.— Redgauntlet.  2  vols. — The  Fair  Maid  of 
Perth.  2  vols. — Anne  of  Geierstein.  2  vols. — Woodstock.  2  vols.— Peveril  of  the 
Peak.  3  vols. —  A  Legend  of  Montrose.  i  vol. — The  Betrothed,  i  vol. — The 
Talisman,  i  vol.  —  The  Bride  of  Lammermoor;  The  Black  Dwarf.  2  vols. — 
Count  Robert  of  Paris.  2  vols.  —  Chronicles  of  the  Canongate;  The  Highland 
Widow,  &c.  i  vol. — The  Surgeon's  Daughter ;  Glossary,  i  vol. 

POPULAR  EDITION:  24  volumes  (2  volumes  in  one),  bound  in  Green 
Cloth,  $i  25  per  volume ;  Complete  Sets,  in  Half  Morocco  (24  volumes),  $54  oo. 

Waverley.  i  vol.  —  Guy  Mannering.  i  vol. — The  Antiquary,  i  vol. —Rob 
Roy.  i  vol. — Old  Mortality,  i  vol. — The  Heart  of  Mid-Lothian,  i  vol. — Ivan- 
hoe,  i  vol. — The  Monastery,  i  vol. — The  Abbot,  i  vol. — Kenilworth.  i  vol. — 
The  Pirate,  i  vol.— The  Fortunes  of  Nigel,  i  vol. — Quentin  Durward.  i  vol. — 
St.  Ronan's  Well,  i  vol. — Redgauntlet.  i  vol. — The  Fair  Maid  of  Perth,  i  voL 
— Anne  of  Geierstein.  i  vol. — Woodstock,  i  vol. — The  Bride  of  Lammermoor ; 
The  Black  Dwarf,  i  vol. — The  Betrothed ;  The  Talisman,  i  vol. — Peveril  of  the 
Peak;  A  Legend  of  Montrose.  2  vols. — Count  Robert  of  Paris;  Castle  Danger- 
ous ;  Chronicles  of  the  Canongate ;  The  Highland  Widow,  etc. ;  The  Surgeon's 
Daughter ;  Glossary.  2  vols. 

SIR    WALTER    SCOTT'S    POEMS. 

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PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  NEW  YORK. 

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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


REC'D  LD-URI 
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I  •  •    •  I  •  •  •'•',;.. 


